Chantal Cara

Disclosure experience in a convenience sample of quebec-born women living with HIV: a phenomenological study

BackgroundIn Canada, there has been a considerable increase in the number of women infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Within a stigmatized social context, disclosure of HIV positivity is still a prevailing concern among women. Little is known about the global understanding of how French-speaking, Quebec-born women living with HIV, live their serostatus disclosure experience. The aim of this qualitative study is to describe and understand the disclosure experience of these women.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with seven women. A convenience sample of French-speaking, Quebec-born women was chosen because they all responded to the criteria of wishing to share their disclosure experience. The mean age of the participants was 46 years old (SD±12). They lived with HIV for an average of 10 years; time since diagnosis varied from 8 months to 23 years. Two out of four mothers had given birth to HIV positive children. Data analysis proposed by van Manen was performed to discover the essential themes of the experience.ResultsSeven themes were identified to understand the experience of disclosure in women: 1) Respecting for self and confidants; 2) Feeling apprehension; 3) Exercising control to ensure protection; 4) Deliberately engaging in a process of disclosure/non-disclosure; 5) Exposing oneself to stigma and social exclusion; 6) Suffering internally; and 7) Benefitting from the positive effects of one’s decision. For these women, disclosing their HIV status meant: Living the ambivalence of a paradoxical process of revealing/concealing, in a state of profound suffering, exacerbated by stigma, while also being enriched by the benefits attained.ConclusionsUnderstanding the experience of disclosure in WLHIV is important to guide actions in the practice to support and accompany these women in their unique reality. Health professionals have to broaden their role and work on individual, interpersonal, inter-organizational and intersectoral levels. Mobilization of actors from different sectors would facilitate the implementation of pertinent and opportune interventions.

Developing an Educational Intervention to Strengthen Humanistic Practices of Hemodialysis Nurses in Switzerland

Abstract An educational intervention was developed based on Watsons theory of human caring and dispensed to hemodialysis (HD) nurses in Nyon, Switzerland. HD patients point out that human contact with nurses can become therapeutic when characterized by caring. Research has documented the importance of the contribution of such caring practice to the rehabilitation of patients living with a chronic illness. This initiative supports the relevance of exploring humanistic caring practice in order to contribute to the rehabilitation of HD patients. The article presents the principal stages of the theoretical development of the educational intervention.

Feasibility, Acceptability, and Benefits of a Humanistic Educational Intervention: A Qualitative Secondary Analysis of Two Datasets (Quebec and Switzerland)

A French-language humanistic educational intervention aimed at strengthening nurses’ caring attitudes and behaviors was first developed in Quebec, with rehabilitation nurses, and then used in Switzerland, with hemodialysis nurses. In both projects, phenomenological interviews explored the feasibility, acceptability, and benefits of this intervention. This article presents the results of a secondary analysis of both datasets regarding its convergence and divergence. A strong thematic convergence underlined that nurses adopted a shared language with respect to caring and reinforced their humanistic clinical practices. Consequently, such intervention could prove itself useful in fostering a more humanist nursing practice within today challenging healthcare system.

Humanizing Nursing Care: An Analysis of Caring Theories Through the Lens of Humanism

Abstract Humanisms tenets are rarely described in regard to the theories of our discipline. In this article, we outline the historical origins of the humanism movements along with its etymology in order to analyze the assumptions that were brought up by selected North American nursing scholars related to human caring. We then detail each perspective while linking their premises with the roots of humanism. While discussing humanistic caring theories in nursing, we clarify relational concepts such as mutuality, reciprocity, authenticity, and human potential. We finally conclude with a summary of the main tenets of humanism and its implications for nursing practice.

Patient Safety: The Contribution of “Rehabilitation Caring” To Its Definition

With the perspective of Disability Creation Process (DCP), rehabilitation caring extends the definition of patient safety beyond physical aspects. Given that rehabilitation transforms the person holistically and solicits a humanistic approach from the caregiver, it seems inevitable that psychological, social, and spiritual standpoints must be considered as major issues for these patients. By presenting the DCP with new research findings, pertaining to a caring approach in rehabilitation, a strongly linked perspective was revealed, which contributes to patient safety.

A Caring Environment To Promote Quality of Working Life: A Phenomenological Study with Male Nurses in Community Settings

86 (1992) attributes of caring, the survey’s questions were designed to explore the usefulness of the portfolio as a personal expression of living caring. Results revealed study participants strongly agreed or agreed that the assignment allowed them to “know myself better” (85%), increased their awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses (90%), and provided a link between the reflective and practical components of their professional practice (93%). In addition, participants strongly agreed or agreed that faculty evaluation of their portfolios was helpful (95%), the assignment contributed to their “feeling cared for by faculty” (63%), and the assignment contributed to faculty coming to know them as person (88%). This study suggests that a professional portfolio assignment with the explicit intention of coming to know self and other as caring is a useful educational strategy. Through its reflective and practical content the professional portfolio can represent an RN to BSN student’s expression of knowing self as living caring.