Michael P. Daly , Ruth R. Kipping , James White , Julia Sanders
{"title":"What support is needed for preconception health improvement, and by whom? A qualitative study of women's views","authors":"Michael P. Daly , Ruth R. Kipping , James White , Julia Sanders","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100607","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100607","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Systematic reviews suggest preconception health interventions may be effective in improving maternal and infant outcomes<em>.</em> However, few studies have explored women's views on the types of support required for preconception health improvement, nor when and to whom this support should be provided.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We purposively sampled women aged 18–48 years in the West of England from respondents to a survey, and conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews to explore their views on support needs in the preconception period and target populations for this support. We analyzed the data using a data-driven framework analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The women we interviewed (N = 20) broadly supported promoting greater awareness of preconception health and felt the limited focus on health before pregnancy downplays its importance relative to antenatal health. Some women opposed support services and structural interventions to improve preconception health, due to concerns these are less impactful than encouraging individual responsibility for health. Women who supported structural interventions highlighted broader determinants of health and socioeconomic barriers to preconception health improvement. Men were considered a key target population for preconception support, to help share the burden for preconception health improvement. Women broadly supported ‘age-appropriate’, school-based preconception health education, highlighting young women as an under-served group in need of additional preconception education.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Our findings indicate a need to deliver early preventive support ahead of first pregnancy through services, interventions and policies co-produced with women and women's partners. Future research should explore how to increase public understanding of the socioeconomic, environmental and commercial determinants of preconception health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74862,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Qualitative research in health","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100607"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144663527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael Gonzalez Jr. , Musa Yahaya , Rebecca Yang , Jessieka Knazze , Tajammal Yasin , Douglas Ihrke , Young Cho , Lorraine Lathen , Linnea I. Laestadius
{"title":"“Whether they've done anything beyond performance could be argued”: A focus group study examining the perceived impact of a racism is a public health crisis declaration","authors":"Michael Gonzalez Jr. , Musa Yahaya , Rebecca Yang , Jessieka Knazze , Tajammal Yasin , Douglas Ihrke , Young Cho , Lorraine Lathen , Linnea I. Laestadius","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100606","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100606","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In recent years, local governments have begun to explicitly recognize that racism is a public health crisis that requires policy reforms to address systemic drivers of inequality. In May 2019, Milwaukee County, WI became the first locality in the U.S. to adopt such a resolution. It is not clear to what extent these declarations foster substantive change. We use Milwaukee County, WI as a case study to determine community perceptions of the impacts of declarations naming racism as a public health crisis. Between December 2022 and March 2024, we conducted ten focus groups with minoritized communities in Milwaukee County, WI. The 50 participants were stratified based on self-identified race/ethnicity, with one group specific to LGBTQ+ members of these communities. Focus group transcripts were analyzed using rigorous and accelerated data reduction (RADaR) and reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) approaches to qualitative data. Focus groups suggest little awareness of the resolution and some skepticism toward its ability to foster change. Few indicated that the inequities within the county have improved since 2019. Analysis of perceptions of the declaration's impact yielded three key themes: 1) the declaration represents the potential for needed reform, 2) limited public-facing action fosters frustration and skepticism, and 3) communication failures impact the promotion of health equity. There was a strong desire to see active, direct engagement from government officials in their communities. Overall, findings indicate that declarations alone may not be sufficient to spur meaningful policy action that impacts communities in a broadly noticeable manner.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74862,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Qualitative research in health","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100606"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144663528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ada Humphrey , Carl May , Steven Cummins , Fiona Stevenson
{"title":"“I can't show them on the phone so it's what I say and I'm not saying a lot.” – The loss of nonverbal and visual cues during telephone consultations, equity of access and the impact on marginalised patients: a qualitative study","authors":"Ada Humphrey , Carl May , Steven Cummins , Fiona Stevenson","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100604","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100604","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>There has been an increase in the use of telephone consultations in General Practice in the UK during and since the COVID-19 pandemic. This results in a reliance on verbal communication alone due to the loss of non-verbal and visual cues. The consequences of this for inequities of healthcare in marginalised groups is underexplored.</div><div>This paper examines accounts of patients from marginalised groups of the impact of a loss of non-verbal and visual cues during telephone GP consultations and effects on experiences of care.</div></div><div><h3>Design</h3><div>and setting: Ethnography and interview study (n = 15) undertaken at three sites in London: a foodbank, a community development organisation, and a drop-in advice centre for migrants. Additionally, GPs (n = 5) working at practices in London, Digital Health Hub staff (n = 4) and staff at fieldwork sites (n = 3) were interviewed.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>Ethnographic observation (n = 84hrs) and semi-structured interviews (n = 27). Interviews were conducted in-person and over the phone and data were analysed through reflexive thematic analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Analysis identified challenges in effectively conveying information during telephone GP consultations as a result of language barriers, health literacy, and concerns around sensitive disclosure as a result of a loss of non-verbal and visual cues. Additionally, GPs reported mitigation techniques employed during telephone consultations including increased use of questioning, referrals for additional tests, and converting to face-to-face consultations in an effort to improve care.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74862,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Qualitative research in health","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100604"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144663526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ahmad Rashed Wassif , Maisam Najafizada , Shree Mulay
{"title":"Influence of gender norms on unassisted homebirths in Afghanistan: A qualitative study","authors":"Ahmad Rashed Wassif , Maisam Najafizada , Shree Mulay","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100601","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100601","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite efforts to promote gender equality in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2021, the country continues to face significant challenges in women's health, including high rates of unassisted homebirths and maternal mortality. This study explores the influence of gender norms on unassisted homebirths in Afghanistan, where conservative societal norms often dictate women's roles and access to healthcare. A qualitative case study design was employed to explore unassisted homebirths in Afghanistan. Data were collected from Afghan refugee men and women who had relocated to Canada. In-depth interviews were conducted with nine women who had experienced unassisted homebirths, and focus group discussions were held with six men and eight women to gather their experiences and observations of homebirths in their communities.</div><div>The findings highlight a range of factors, including gender norms that burden women with exhaustive household and agricultural responsibilities, financial dependence on male family members that restricts their autonomy, and male-dominated decision-making processes that severely limit their agency in health-related choices. Additionally, social norms requiring women to seek permission from husbands or a male family member and have a <em>mahram</em> (husband or a permissible male companion) to access healthcare were found to compound barriers to skilled birth attendance.</div><div>The research underscores the need for gender-sensitive strategies that engage family members, particularly male relatives and mothers-in-law, to promote skilled birth attendance and empower women through health education and improving their economic opportunities to make autonomous health decisions. Addressing these gender norms and power dynamics is crucial for reducing unassisted homebirths.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74862,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Qualitative research in health","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100601"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144572643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dementia and the disappearing subject: a framing analysis of drugs for dementia in UK news media","authors":"Lucie Hogger, Deborah Swinglehurst, Nina Fudge","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100603","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100603","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dementia affects 55 million people worldwide and is a global priority as governments, health services and care providers grapple with how to provide care for people with dementia and their families. In the UK, drug treatments for dementia have been available since the early 2000s. There has been significant controversy regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of pharmaceuticals. Using framing analysis, we investigated how dementia drugs were framed in UK news media between 2011 and 2018. Framing devices do discursive work in setting out what kind of problem dementia is. We show that news media framed pharmaceutical ‘cures’ for dementia in four different ways: to solve the problem of dementia for the individual; to prevent and eliminate the catastrophic ills of dementia for society; to combat the rising cost of dementia; and to mobilise political will and investment in a pharmaceutical cure. We pay particular attention to how the dominant discourse of hope constituted desired-for, imagined futures. We argue that parallel discourses on eliminating dementia and problematic ageing adopt dehumanising language and metaphors which produce an ageless pharmaceutical future in which the need to care for people with dementia, or older people more generally, is eradicated.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74862,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Qualitative research in health","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100603"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144657076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Men's mental health service engagement amidst the masculinity crisis: towards a reconstruction of traditional masculinity","authors":"Rita Hui Ting Lok , Yik Wa Law","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100596","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100596","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mental health service underutilisation amongst men is common in the developed world, and Hong Kong is no exception. Some have attributed the phenomenon to conformity to traditional masculinity. Global and local feminist movements and social processes/reforms leading to female advancement across arenas, however, are forcing men to rethink and adapt to new gender roles by “doing”, “re-doing” and “undoing” gender. In the current study, masculinity is considered not an entirely toxic or fixed concept but one that can be redefined or reconfigured to become a powerful approach by which service providers can engage and retain male service users. Guided by the health belief model (HBM), we conducted 21 semi-structured in-depth interviews with Hong Kong men aged 18-55. Most of the interviewees had a history of mental distress and suicide and/or self-harm ideation, and some of illicit drug addiction. These men commonly expressed feeling a sense of inadequacy when they encountered mental health problems and tended to utilise alternative coping approaches (e.g. substance use or self-harm) to avoid recognising their problems that required timely and appropriate professional intervention. They largely persisted in cultivating a sense of competency or agency through their ability to provide their families with both tangible and non-tangible support. The study results suggest the efficacy of taking men's unique masculine traits into account and formulating service design and engagement around three elements: (1) engaging potential male service users with purposes that go beyond their emotions/feelings alone; (2) articulating a programme with pragmatic steps and clear, observable and measurable/quantifiable outcomes; and (3) embracing, re-narrating and transforming negative masculinity narratives/beliefs into meaningful ones.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74862,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Qualitative research in health","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100596"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144581385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jingsong Zhao , Yue Guan , Weihua An , Kevin Ward , Colleen M. McBride
{"title":"Exploring we-talk as a relational measure for transformation of motivation in family genetic risk communication","authors":"Jingsong Zhao , Yue Guan , Weihua An , Kevin Ward , Colleen M. McBride","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100602","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100602","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>“Transformation of motivation” (TM) and communal coping are interrelated social psychological concepts. TM occurs when an individual’s motivation to protect the self is expanded to include the well-being of important others. TM has largely been assessed by we-talk, that is, counts of the use of we pronouns during conversations about shared experiences. The extent to which we-talk adequately captures TM is underexplored. Family cancer genetic risk communication offers an ideal context for expanded understanding of TM.</div><div>We conducted think-aloud interviews with 20 ovarian cancer survivors. We assessed counts of we-talk by survivors, matched with qualitative insights describing relational motives for sharing inherited risk information using deductive thematic analysis. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data from survivors as they navigated through a website developed to foster family cancer genetic risk communication in real-time. Indicators of relational thinking (i.e. thoughts and feelings) that was prompted during this process were assessed to indicate we-problem- and we-responsibility sentiments.</div><div>We found that we-talk was used infrequently (1.0 %; SD=0.4) compared to I-talk (8.6 %; SD=1.0), which is consistent with prior studies. We-problem expanded when there was a known family history of cancer but lessened when survivors perceived relatives had competing life priorities. We-responsibility emerged when considering younger relatives but decreased when survivors perceived that it was others’ responsibility to share the information. This is the first study to match pronoun counts with real-time qualitative insights to explore TM. Future studies are needed to further investigate operationalization of TM in relational-motivation research and family-centered interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74862,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Qualitative research in health","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100602"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144572642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jonathan Roberts , Kristi Heather Kenyon , Alexander Kwarteng , Emmanuel Kobla Atsu Amewu
{"title":"Lymphatic filariasis as an indigenous illness: the local context of a global disease","authors":"Jonathan Roberts , Kristi Heather Kenyon , Alexander Kwarteng , Emmanuel Kobla Atsu Amewu","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100598","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100598","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lymphatic filariasis (LF), also known as elephantiasis, is a chronic disease that is devastating for patients, both bodily and socially. Besides the unbearable chronic pain, disfigured limbs, and loss of livelihood, people living with LF are stigmatized and sometimes abandoned by family. To ease the burden of LF, which is known locally as <em>gyepim</em> or <em>duba</em>, the social and cultural aspects must be investigated in unison with the biomedical strategies already in place. As part of a multi-year pilot study in the Western Region of Ghana, funded by Canadian Institutes for Health Research, this article investigates the ways that traditional healers manage the stigma associated with LF. Interviews were conducted in the local languages to collect data. These were transcribed and translated to English for thematic and content analysis. Preliminary findings indicate that the traditional healers of the Western Region of Ghana regard the illness within an indigenous worldview, an ecology and history borne of the spiritual topography of Western Ghana. Healers, known as <em>okomfoi</em>, are conversant in the causes and outcomes of LF, and can offer varied diagnoses and cures for the disease within an indigenous framework. Additionally, they claim to do so without the need to antagonize allopathic practitioners. These insights demonstrate that thinking about LF as an indigenous ailment can offer new understandings of how we might eliminate this neglected tropical disease.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74862,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Qualitative research in health","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100598"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144570770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Caitlyn D. Placek , Lora Adair , Julieta Baker , Susan Robson
{"title":"The sociocultural ecology of resilience: A comparative study among women in the United Kingdom","authors":"Caitlyn D. Placek , Lora Adair , Julieta Baker , Susan Robson","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100597","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100597","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Resilience is often framed as an internal, individual process. However, this perspective overlooks the complex relationship between individuals and their social and ecological contexts. Drawing on insights from evolutionary anthropology, psychology, and public health, this paper explores how women who use drugs from two regions in the United Kingdom perceive resilience and navigate intricate sociocultural environments of recovery. It also considers factors that promote resilience and those that can cause harm. This study was conducted in two regions of England: Northeast England (n = 14), including Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham, and Greater London (n = 10). Participants, who were actively engaged in recovery services, participated in one-on-one in-depth interviews that included questions about their perceptions of and direct experiences with substance use and recovery. They were also asked to share their journeys into addiction and subsequent recovery while reflecting on the barriers and facilitators to recovery for women in their community. Our findings support a growing body of research that emphasizes recovery as a relational process. Women in Northeast England and London relied on social networks, particularly through peer meetings, to navigate their recovery. Additionally, key themes included the impact of community and institutional harm, particularly in promoting isolation and emotional distress. This study highlights the significance of social learning and relational resilience in addiction recovery, framed within a sociocultural-ecological model. These findings underscore that recovery is not solely an individual process but one deeply embedded in broader sociocultural and relational dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74862,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Qualitative research in health","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100597"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144502423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael Hodgins , Jenny Sohn , Carmen Crespo-Gonzalez , Tamara Morris , Yvonne Zurynski , Sonia Khano , Lena Sanci , Teng Liaw , Gary Freed , Brendan Goodger , Harriet Hiscock , Raghu Lingam
{"title":"Reterritorialising paediatric care in general practice clinics through a GP-paediatrician integrated care model","authors":"Michael Hodgins , Jenny Sohn , Carmen Crespo-Gonzalez , Tamara Morris , Yvonne Zurynski , Sonia Khano , Lena Sanci , Teng Liaw , Gary Freed , Brendan Goodger , Harriet Hiscock , Raghu Lingam","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100595","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100595","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Evidence is building exploring the efficacy of general practitioner (GP)-paediatrician integrated care models in improving the quality of paediatric primary care and reducing GP referrals to outpatient clinics and emergency departments. However, contemporary research has not adequately explored the mechanisms of change within these models to best support their sustainability and scalability. Our analysis involved interviews and focus groups with four paediatricians and 82 GPs across 21 general practices that were enrolled in a trial of a GP-paediatrician integrated care model, Strengthening Care for Children (SC4C). Using Deleuze and Guattari's ontological framing of assemblage deterritorialisation and reterritorialisation, we explored how the SC4C model reterritorialised GPs' scope of practice. We framed our reading of GP-paediatrician roles and responsibilities using material forms of content and immaterial forms of expression to identify how the SC4C model disrupted historical relationships and hierarchies between general practice and paediatric domain of practice. Our analysis revealed that the boundaries of GP-led paediatric assemblages of care were often dictated by system constraints within existing GP models, including limited funding and time available for GPs to deliver comprehensive paediatric care.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74862,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Qualitative research in health","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100595"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}