Living on the edge: a phenomenological study of medically uninsured working Americans.

An estimated 35 to 50 million Americans have no medical insurance; the vast majority are employed persons and their dependents. This phenomenological study was developed to make visible the experience of working Americans living on the edge-forced to walk a fine line between health and illness without the safety net of medical insurance. A purposive sample of 12 individuals was asked, "What is it like to be working and without medical insurance? Based on textual analysis, using an adaptation of Colazzi's method, themes were grouped into four theme clusters: A Marginalized Life, Up Against Rocks and Hard Places, Making Choices-Chancing It, and Getting By-More or Less.

Caught in the cross fire of change: nurses' experience with unlicensed assistive personnel.

Under tremendous pressure to contain costs, most U.S. hospitals are radically altering the composition and skill mix of their staff, thinning their skilled registered nurse (RN) ranks, and often substituting them with minimally trained, lower paid, unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP).

The meaning of survival: the early aftermath of a near-death experience.

An estimated 9 million adults in this country may have had a near-death experience (NDE), yet little research has been focused on the early aftermath of this extraordinary phenomenon. The purpose of this interpretive study was to appropriate and make visible how patients who had an NDE during a cardiac or respiratory arrest understood and experienced this early period of survival. Gadamerian hermeneutics (1975/1990) informed and guided the study.

Reexamining the oral contraceptive issues.

Oral contraceptives have been in use since the 1960s. Over the past 20 plus years, the risks and benefits of oral contraceptives have captured the attention of the press and the public. According to current data, oral contraceptives seem to pose the greatest risk for women in their 40s who smoke cigarettes.