A qualitative study to understand patients' experiences of their post-operative outcomes following forefoot surgery.

Background: Hallux valgus and hallux rigidus are two common forefoot conditions causing deformity, pain, functional limitations, disability and deteriorating health status resulting in the requirement for surgery. Even when surgery is performed by an experienced surgeon, there remains a potential for patients to experience dissatisfaction and unfavourable outcomes. Adverse results are moderated by psychosocial variables; however, there is a paucity of qualitative research providing insight into how patients perceive their outcomes and the factors affecting their recovery.

A qualitative study with orthopaedic surgeons on pain catastrophizing and surgical outcomes: shifting from a medical towards a biopsychosocial model of surgery.

Background: Pain catastrophizing (PC) moderates surgical outcomes and behavioural interventions are recommended to optimise post-operative results. Less is known about surgeons' experiences of providing care and their attitudes towards the use of interventions in practice.

Objective: It is therefore invaluable to understand surgeons' views on how best to support patients who may be at risk of suboptimal recovery.

Negotiating the boundaries of the medical model: Experiences of people with epilepsy.

People with epilepsy (PWE) continually report dissatisfaction with the support they receive, particularly in regard to their psychological wellbeing. With its focus on optimal seizure control, epilepsy treatment is entrenched in the medical model of illness, despite growing evidence of the broader psychosocial impact of the condition. This study aimed to explore how PWE experience healthcare in the context of their lives.

What are the positive drivers and potential barriers to implementation of hospital at home selected by low-risk DECAF score in the UK: a qualitative study embedded within a randomised controlled trial.

Objective: Hospital at home (HAH) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation selected by low-risk Dyspnoea, Eosinopenia, Consolidation, Acidaemia and atrial Fibrillation (DECAF) score is clinical and cost-effective; DECAF is a prognostic score indicating risk of mortality. Up to 50% of admitted patients are suitable, a much larger proportion than earlier services. Introduction of new models of care is challenging, but may be facilitated by informed engagement with stakeholders.

Epilepsy, identity, and the experience of the body.

Living with a chronic condition can challenge a person's identity, yet there is a paucity of research exploring this experience for people with epilepsy and particularly for those diagnosed in adulthood. Consequently, through an interpretative phenomenological approach, the current study aimed to explore what the experience of adult-onset epilepsy meant for a person's identity. Thirty-nine people with adult-onset epilepsy from across the UK took part in up to two semi-structured interviews.

A randomised crossover trial comparing Thai and Swedish massage for fatigue and depleted energy.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and social constructions of Thai massage (TM) and Swedish massage (SM) for patients experiencing fatigue or depleted energy.

Method: Twenty participants were randomised to receive three once-weekly TM treatments and three once-weekly SM treatments, with crossover after three massages. Symptom checklists were administered at three time points and included Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List and VAS Scale.

The experience of living with adult-onset epilepsy.

The incidence and prevalence of adults diagnosed with epilepsy is higher compared to those diagnosed in childhood, yet the experience of living with adult-onset epilepsy has rarely been examined. Hence, the current study took a phenomenological approach to examining the experience of living with epilepsy following diagnosis in adulthood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 39 people from across the UK, diagnosed with epilepsy between the ages of eighteen and sixty, at two points in time, six months apart.

The decision-making process for breast reconstruction after cancer surgery: Representations of heterosexual couples in long-standing relationships.

Objectives: Most people deal with intrusive life events such as cancer and the care trajectory together with their intimate partners. To our knowledge, no research has studied the involvement of the partner in the decision-making process regarding breast reconstruction (BR) after cancer. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the couples' decision-making process for BR in the cancer context and particularly to investigate the partners' involvement in this process.

[Evaluation of the impact of breast reconstruction in women in couple through a community-based research tool: The Seintinelles].

This preliminary study explores the psychological and marital impact of breast reconstruction (or lack thereof) in women who had a mastectomy due to breast cancer. The study was carried out through an innovative and French community-based research tool on cancer: the Seintinelles. Sixty-nine partnered women treated for breast cancer participated, divided into 3 groups: 19 without breast reconstruction, 24 with immediate breast reconstruction and 26 with delayed breast reconstruction.

Successful behavioural strategies to increase physical activity and improve glucose control in adults with Type 2 diabetes.

Aims: To explore which behaviour change techniques and other intervention features are associated with increased levels of physical activity and improved HbA1c in adults with Type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Moderator analyses were performed on a dataset of 21 behaviour change techniques and six intervention features identified in a systematic review of behavioural interventions (N = 1975 patients with Type 2 diabetes) to establish their associations with changes in physical activity and HbA1c .

Results: Four behaviour change techniques (prompt focus on past success, barrier identification/problem-solving, use of follow-up prompts and provide information on where and when to perform physical activity) had statistically significant associations with increased levels of physical activity.

Predictors of the psychosocial impact of being a carer of people living with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review.

Introduction: Caring for a person with Parkinson's disease (PwP) can have a variety of negative consequences that may challenge their ability to continue their caring role. It is still unknown why some individuals adapt better than others in response to such burdens. This review is the first to synthesize and evaluate the evidence on the predictive factors of psychosocial outcomes in PwP carers.

Social constructions of the male contraception pill: When are we going to break the vicious circle?

Social constructions of men towards the availability of a male hormonal contraceptive, the 'male pill', were explored. A qualitative approach applying semi-structured interviews and scenarios with 22 men (mean age 35 years) from the North East of England revealed two core constructs and six sub-constructs using a Thematic-Construct Analysis in line with the method of Toerien and Wilkinson and Clarke and Kitzinger. Verbal accounts were inductively used to balance the deductively created two core constructs 'Constructing the male pill norm: dominant system of sensemaking' and 'Living by the male pill norm' to represent a normative framework within a changing ideology of shared responsibility in contraceptive choice.

Psychological skills training of an elite wheelchair water-skiing athlete: a single-case study.

This study presents a complete psychological skills training (PST) program with a wheelchair athlete and examines the program effectiveness using a mixed-method approach. After initial testing, the athlete followed a two-month program of self-confidence building, motivational, visualization/relaxation, and injury management techniques. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine the impacts on performance and psychological abilities.

Exploring the role of computers in sex and relationship education within British families.

In this study, we aimed to identify the impact that computers can have in relation to sex and relationship education, as well as to provide a communication model that can be used within British families. We used a mixed-methods approach to explore the factors that influence communication of sexual matters within British families. Twenty families from the northeast of England were recruited through purposive sampling.

Changing physical activity behavior in type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of behavioral interventions.

Objective: Behavioral interventions targeting "free-living" physical activity (PA) and exercise that produce long-term glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes are warranted. However, little is known about how clinical teams should support adults with type 2 diabetes to achieve and sustain a physically active lifestyle.

Research Design And Methods: We conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (published up to January 2012) to establish the effect of behavioral interventions (compared with usual care) on free-living PA/exercise, HbA(1c), and BMI in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Treatment decision making in breast cancer: a longitudinal exploration of women's experiences.

Objectives: To explore the lived experience of breast cancer in relation to the treatment decision-making process over time.

Design: Adopting a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, semi-structured interviews were undertaken at three points in time during the year following diagnosis.

Methods: After ethical approval had been obtained, 20 women who were recently diagnosed with breast cancer were recruited from a Symptomatic Breast Cancer Unit in the North East of England.

Attitudes towards the male contraceptive pill in men and women in casual and stable sexual relationships.

Background And Methodology: Men's and women's attitudes towards the male contraceptive pill and their trust in the effective use of the male pill were investigated, as well as the associated variables of reported health behaviours, perceived self-efficacy and type of sexual relationship, using a questionnaire survey.

Results: Although both sexes had a favourable attitude towards the male pill, females had a more positive attitude than men. Conversely, women had less trust that men would use the male pill effectively.

Binge-drinking in Britain as a social and cultural phenomenon: the development of a grounded theoretical model.

Techniques and procedures of Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory were used to develop a conditional matrix on binge-drinking in Britain, reflecting data of 32 participants, aged between 22 and 58. The core category was 'binge-drinking as a social and cultural phenomenon'. Results show the value of binge-drinking as an enjoyable way of socializing and counter-balancing the demands of daily hassles and routines.

Evaluating the factor structure of the Psychological Performance Inventory.

This study assesses the construct validity of a measure of mental toughness, Loehr's Psychological Performance Inventory. Performers (N = 408, 303 men, 105 women, M age = 24.0 yr.

Factors important in the design of information material for scoliosis.

The aim of this study was to identify the most salient characteristics for designing written information for persons with idiopathic scoliosis and their families. A sample of 106 persons with idiopathic scoliosis (n=83) and family members of persons with idiopathic scoliosis (n=23) completed a postal questionnaire to assess perceived level of scoliosis-related knowledge, importance attached to generic design characteristics of information material and preferences for presentation of risk information. Scoliosis knowledge was rated below average for 70% of topics.

Stigma, sexually transmitted infections and attendance at the GUM Clinic: an exploratory study with implications for the theory of planned behaviour.

A gap in the literature regarding understanding of people's health care seeking behaviours in relation to sexually transmitted infections is identified. Employing both deductive and inductive methods, 10 patients (five female, five male) were interviewed to explore the psychosocial, motivational and attitudinal factors associated with attendance at a Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinic in a close-knit community in the north of England. Seven stigma-related themes were identified as salient issues surrounding perceptions of sexual health screening and included: (1)prejudice surrounding STIs; (2)fear of exposure; (3)isolation; (4)reluctance to attend; (5)contamination; (6)relationship issues; and (7)perceived invulnerability.

Information, social support and anxiety before gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Objectives: To examine Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) stress theory regarding the effects of the stress mediators information and perceived social support on anxiety (as the stress response) regarding gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy (as the stressor) in male and female patients of various age groups.

Design: Non-experimental design.

Methods: Structured interviews were conducted with 113 hospital out-patients about to undergo GI endoscopy.

Influence of illness script components and medical practice on medical decision making.

Illness scripts are knowledge structures composed of consequences, enabling conditions, and faults. The effects of illness script components--consequences and enabling conditions--and physician factors on referral decisions for gastrointestinal disorders were investigated. The hypothesis that consequences and enabling conditions increase the likelihood of referral was confirmed and several interactions between consequences and enabling conditions were found.

Presence within a mixed reality environment.

Mixed reality environments represent a new approach to creating technology-mediated experiences. However, there is a lack of empirical research investigating users' actual experience. The aim of the current exploratory, non-experimental study was to establish levels of and identify factors associated with presence, within the framework of Schubert et al.

The utility of a multimedia education program for prostate cancer patients: a formative evaluation.

A multimedia program (MMP) was developed to educate patients with prostate cancer about their disease. A within-subjects design was used to investigate the changes in levels of cancer-related knowledge, psychosocial functioning, treatment decision-making role and information needs immediately after browsing the MMP. The participants were 67 men recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.