Measurement of Health-Related Quality of Life from Conception to Postpartum Using the EQ-5D-5L Among a National Sample of US Pregnant and Postpartum Adults.

Background: During pregnancy, physiological changes occur from conception to birth. We assessed the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) throughout pregnancy and postpartum using the EQ-5D-5L.

Methods: Between May and July 2021 (wave 1) and December 2021 and April 2022 (wave 2), we conducted a series of cross-sectional, national online surveys of 5250 pregnant and postpartum United States (US) adults.

"Holding Space": A Phenomenological Exploration of Mindfulness-Based Practice With Veterans Who Have Experienced Trauma.

The current phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of Veterans who completed a 4-month mindfulness program. One-on-one interviews were conducted with 12 Veterans using a Socratic method of interviewing, which yielded rich contextual narratives. Analysis was guided by a hermeneutic process to disclose concealed meanings.

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and coverage among pregnant persons in the United States.

Pregnant persons are at higher risk of severe COVID-19. Although vaccination is recommended, COVID-19 vaccination rates are lower among pregnant persons compared to the non-pregnant population. We aimed to evaluate acceptance of any dose of COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy.

'Chimwemwe Mu'bereki' (Joyful Motherhood): Closing the Gap in Unmet Need for Home Based Nurse Midwifery Care in High Risk Infants and Postpartum Women in Malawi.

Introduction: Although decreasing, maternal and infant mortality remain high in Malawi with and estimated 359 per 100,000 live births for maternal mortality ratios, and 22.4 per 1000 live births for infant mortality. Joyful Motherhood (JM), or Chimwemwe mu'bereki, is a Malawian nonprofit organization, founded by a US midwife in 2008, which provides home-based care to high-risk, critically ill postpartum women and infants in rural villages of Lilongwe, Malawi.

Youth Experiences of Parent Incarceration: Doing Time From Both Sides.

In 2015-2016, an estimated 6 million children in the United States had at least one parent incarcerated. Children of incarcerated parents experience physical, mental, social, and economic consequences, including migraines, asthma, depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, school dropout, and homelessness. The purpose of the current phenomenological study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of youth who have or have had an incarcerated parent.

Increasing Empathy and Conflict Resolution Skills through Nonviolent Communication (NVC) Training in Latino Adults and Youth.

Background: Children of Latino immigrants often are torn between their native homes and new communities. Having supportive interpersonal relationships increases resilience to delinquent and violent behaviors stemming from immigration challenges. Communication fostering empathy may improve conflict resolution and supportive relationships.

Nurses, formerly incarcerated adults, and Gadamer: phronesis and the Socratic dialectic.

This paper describes the first phase of an ongoing education and research project guided by three main intentions: (1) to create opportunities for phronesis in the classroom; (2) to develop new understandings about phronesis as it relates to nursing care generally and to caring for specific groups, like formerly incarcerated adults; and (3) to provide an opportunity for formerly incarcerated adults and graduate nursing students to participate in a dialectical conversation about ethical knowing. Gadamer's writings on practical philosophy, phronesis, and the Socratic dialectic provide the philosophical foundation and framework for the project. The first phase in the project was a 4-h class within a graduate-level health promotion course during which 30 nursing students and three formerly incarcerated panelists engaged in a dialectic conversation about what it means to care for formerly incarcerated adults in a meaningful way.

Nonviolent communication: a dialogical retrieval of the ethic of authenticity.

Charles Taylor called for a retrieval of the ethic of authenticity that has been distorted in modern notions of autonomy and self-fulfillment. Via exchanges with others who matter to us, he proposed that human identities develop through the use of rich language draped in shared horizons of significance. The fostering of these dialogical ties beyond purely instrumental purposes, along with the recognition of the human dignity in all, may avert the fallen ideal of authenticity.

'Chaos, restitution and quest': one woman's journey through menopause.

Menopause, a natural stage in a woman's reproductive life, is not an illness; yet some women experience severe enough symptoms to cause a breakdown in the body similar to illness or other major health disruptions. As part of a larger narrative analysis investigation of distress during menopause, this case study presents one woman's transformational journey through menopause, analysed through Frank's health and illness narratives - chaos, restitution and quest. The narratives were retranscribed using Labov's elements of a true story and Gee's poetic restructuring.

The composite first person narrative: Texture, structure, and meaning in writing phenomenological descriptions.

This paper illustrates the use of composite first person narrative interpretive methods, as described by Todres, across a range of phenomena. This methodology introduces texture into the presently understood structures of phenomena and thereby creates new understandings of the phenomenon, bringing about a form of understanding that is relationally alive that contributes to improved caring practices. The method is influenced by the work of Gendlin, Heidegger, van Manen, Gadamer, and Merleau-Ponty.

Silence, stigma, and shame: a postmodern analysis of distress during menopause.

Because of the complexity of a midlife woman's life and the variation of the manifested symptoms of menopause, much remains inconclusive regarding the experience of distress during the menopause transition. The purpose of this narrative analysis study was to examine experiences of distress during the menopause transition using a postmodern feminist framework. Findings include experiences of shame related to symptom experience and prevailing social discourses on menopause and aging.

The effects of perceived stress and attitudes toward menopause and aging on symptoms of menopause.

Introduction: As part of a longitudinal study of midlife women, the aim of this investigation was to describe the intensity of menopausal symptoms in relation to the level of perceived stress in a woman's life and her attitudes toward menopause and aging.

Methods: Data were collected on 347 women between 40 and 50 years of age in Northern California who began the study while premenopausal. Women self-identified as African American, European American, or Mexican/Central American.

Mycoplasma genitalium infection and persistence in a cohort of female sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the risk factors for and persistence of Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) in a highly exposed female population in Kenya.

Study Design: Two hundred fifty-eight sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya, 18 to 35 years of age, were enrolled. Every 2 months, cervical samples were collected for MG, Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) testing by polymerase chain reaction.