Decision making in head and neck cancer care.

Objectives/hypothesis: To describe patterns of patient involvement in head and neck cancer decision making.

Study Design: Prospective longitudinal ethnography of otolaryngology patients making treatment decisions.

Methods: Grounded theory analysis of verbatim transcripts and original voice recordings from: 1) participant-driven diaries, 2) participants' office visits with their physicians, and 3) semistructured interviews completed after a treatment decision had been made.

Managing usual and unexpected pain with physical disability: a qualitative analysis.

Objective: With physical disabilities, persons often experience secondary pain that adds to restrictions in activity and participation. We investigated pain-management strategies used by those with physical disabilities.

Method: Qualitative phenomenological inquiry was used in multiple interviews with (N= 28) adults with physical disabilities (9 with amputation, 7 with cerebral palsy, and 12 with spinal cord injury) and subsequent thematic analysis.

Pathological effects of the supermaximum prison.

The drawings of Todd (Hyung-Rae) Tarselli, a prisoner confined in a Pennsylvania "close-security" or "supermaximum" prison, tell a story--one that graphically portrays the devastating effects of a prison on the mental health of its inmates.

Opportunities and challenges to improving end-of-life care for seriously ill elderly patients: a qualitative study of generalist physicians.

Background: End-of-life care quality deficiencies have in part been linked to inadequate physician skill in the technical and communication domains of palliative care. Yet few studies have examined physicians' perspectives regarding their experiences caring for patients approaching the end of life.

Objective: To understand generalist physicians' perspectives regarding their care of seriously ill elderly patients in order to identify challenges to improving end-of-life communication and decision-making.

Hospice patients' attitudes regarding spiritual discussions with their doctors.

The purpose of this study was to assess hospice patients' attitudes regarding the discussion of spiritual issues with their physicians. We conducted in-depth interviews using open-ended questions on living with illness, spirituality and religion, and physician-patient relationships. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed for dominant themes.

Mutual mistrust in the medical care of drug users: the keys to the "narc" cabinet.

Objective: Caring for patients who are active drug users is challenging. To better understand the often difficult relationships between illicit drug-using patients and their physicians, we sought to identify major issues that emerge during their interactions in a teaching hospital.

Design: Exploratory qualitative analysis of data from direct observation of patient care interactions and interviews with drug-using patients and their physicians.

Physical disability and the experience of chronic pain.

Objectives: To obtain an insider's view about disability-related pain to help rehabilitation clinicians understand the experience and to show how people with disability manage daily living and encounters with other people.

Design: Qualitative methods by using open-ended interviews and thematic analysis.

Setting: Rehabilitation research program.