The experiences of district public health officers during the COVID-19 crisis and its management in the upper southern region of Thailand: A mixed methods approach

District public health officers (DPHO) are the major health care providers and vital resources for tackling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Thailand. No studies have been published on their experiences of combating COVID-19 in Thailand. To guide and improve COVID-19 control efforts, we aimed to describe their experiences and analyze associated factors for tackling the outbreak. This mixed-methods design involved providing structured questionnaires to selected DPHOs across 52 districts of seven provinces in the upper southern region Thailand. We performed data analysis using descriptive and multivariate statistics. The quantitative approach used questionnaires that demonstrated the content validity and reliability. Data collection involved Google forms, analyzed by multivariate statistics. The qualitative approach comprised an online in-depth interview of 11 DPHOs and a thematic analysis. Results found of the 52 DPHOs, 41 were men (78.8%), and the mean age was 50.02 years (SD = 8.52 years). Their proactive experiences were significantly associated with sex (OR_adj = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.11-3.30), age (OR_adj = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.09-2.76), the length of experience in the current position (OR_adj = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.43-3.63), and working time in the current position (OR_adj = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.43-3.63). There was no significant association between marital status, knowledge, understanding, opinion, proactive practice, and participation experiences. These results were related to six themes of the qualitative approach as follows: High morbidity and mortality of COVID-19, COVID-19 concomitant with several problems, Reaching out to the community for better COVID-19 solutions, The importance of regular reports and feedback, Solution planning based on the situation, and Providing relief to all stakeholders from COVID-19 issue. Proactive experiences of district public health officers are important for sustainable COVID-19 solutions. Disseminating relevant equipment, guidelines, policy, and government regulations is necessary to promote preparedness and efficacy in the crisis management of COVID-19.

Phenomenological Qualitative Methods Applied to the Analysis of Cross-Cultural Experience in Novel Educational Social Contexts

The qualitative method of phenomenology provides a theoretical tool for educational research as it allows researchers to engage in flexible activities that can describe and help to understand complex phenomena, such as various aspects of human social experience. This article explains how to apply the framework of phenomenological qualitative analysis to educational research. The discussion within this article is relevant to those researchers interested in doing cross-cultural qualitative research and in adapting phenomenological investigations to understand students’ cross-cultural lived experiences in different social educational contexts.

Returning home: The role of expectations in re-entry adaptation

Returning home after a study abroad experience can be challenging. In the current research, we examine the discrepancy between adaptation expectations and experience in a longitudinal sojourner study (N = 1319; M_age = 17 years; 70% female). Returnees adaptation expectations were assessed prior to returning home, followed by post return measures of adaptation experiences and general well‐being. Overall, returnees reported higher levels of re‐entry adaptation than anticipated. According to the accuracy hypothesis, unmet expectations will be associated with lower well‐being. In contrast, the directional hypothesis suggests that unmet expectations will negatively impact on well‐being, but only if the expectation is undermet. Well‐being on return was regressed on pre‐travel adaptation expectations and adaptation experience on re‐entry. Polynomial regression and Response Surface Analyses were conducted for two outcome variables (stress and satisfaction with life), two types of adaptation (psychological and sociocultural), and at different time points (approximately 2 weeks and 6 months after return). Results consistently show that larger discrepancies were associated with lower well‐being for negative mismatches (when expectations were undermet). For positive mismatches, if adaptation was better than expected, well‐being was higher. Congruence between expectation and experience were not associated with well‐being. Thus, across analyses, results supported a directional hypothesis.

Longitudinal effects of U.S. students' reentry shock on psychological health after returning home during the COVID-19 global pandemic

Guided by the stress process model (Pearlin, Mullan, Semple, & Skaff, 1990; Pearlin, 1999), the purpose of this longitudinal investigation was to examine the extent to which the stressor of premature forced reentry from studying abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., reentry shock, reacculturative stress) was predictive of stress-related compromised mental health (i.e., perceived stress and loneliness) into the subsequent academic year. A total of 133 college students from different U.S. universities completed a short online questionnaire as soon as they came back from their study abroad experience (T1) and approximately six months after (T2), when they were resuming their Fall 2020 academic semester. Consistent with the stress process model, secondary stressors associated with reacculturation were predictive, concurrently and longitudinally, of mental health outcomes, especially loneliness, indicating that students who had the hardest time returning home unexpectedly were at the highest risk for worsened mental health over the following months. These findings reveal that reacculturation following unplanned termination of a study abroad experience is not an event as much as it is a process that unfolds over a period of months, as would be understood from the perspective of the stress process model.

Phenomenological analysis of going home in Caribbean-American international travelers

BACKGROUND

In travel health risk assessments visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel status is often used as an indicator for high-risk travel behavior. VFR travelers have been associated with increased risk of travel-associated illnesses due to poor adherence to travel guidelines and lack of pre-travel health consultations. For travelers to dengue endemic regions, guidelines include compliance with mosquito avoidance practices (MAP). The goal of this study is to understand the meaning of travel experiences to the home country for immigrant and first generation American VFR travelers in the United States (US).

METHODS

A phenomenology study was conducted on VFR travelers to identify social and physical environmental factors associated with travel health behaviors, and determine how 'going home' influences compliance with recommendations for dengue prevention. Purposive sampling identified participants for semi-structured interviews on travel behavior with iterative collection and analysis until data reached saturation.

RESULTS

Interviews revealed five themes that defined the experience of going home: connectedness; control of the experience; two different experiences at home; seeing what home has to offer; and there is no place like home. Moreover, risk perception of health and disease risks in the travel destination influenced travel behavior and compliance with guidelines.

CONCLUSIONS

VFR travel status does not fully capture the experience of international travel. Behavior was associated with the emergent concept of Cultural Embeddedness when traveling home and to new destinations. More research on improving terminology for travel health risk assessments is needed to improve prevention strategies in VFR travelers.

Female Arab-Muslim Nursing Students’ Reentry Transitions

As nursing students are increasingly studying abroad and returning to their home countries to practice, it is important to identify international nursing students’ reentry transition to understand their reentry needs. Phenomenological inquiry was used to describe the reentry experience of seven Omani nurses after studying in the United States. The nurses’ reentry experience was influenced by the personal and professional transformation from studying abroad and included themes of adaptation to cultural differences and service to themselves, their profession, and their nation. These nurses returned home to resume previous roles; they were changed and this required them to redefine and adapt to their roles within their families and workplace. Nurses returning from international study could benefit from a formal reentry program to assist their transition to family, community, and professional life and to enhance the nurses’ contribution from their international education.

Leaving It All Behind to Travel

The potential for personal growth in cross-cultural travel has been posited by numerous psychologists; however, a “gaping hole” in empirical research has left these hypotheses unexplored. Meanwhile, rapidly increasing numbers of people are choosing to leave their careers to pursue a personal dream of extensive foreign travel. The aim of this study was to explore the motivations, psychological experiences, and outcomes from travel in this growing “career-break” demographic. Ten men and women who had exited their careers to pursue extensive culturally engaging travel participated in an individual semistructured interview that was analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. Three main themes emerged: an existential yearning to travel, “jumping off the ledge” (courage), and discovering authenticity. Personal growth occurred via adversity within the travel experience itself, but also at the pretravel stage of departure, where leaving security and venturing uncertainty was experienced with “milestone” significance and, for some, as a seismic event akin to trauma. Future research should explore the potential for a new type of intrinsically emerging trauma in posttraumatic growth and the potential for anxiety as a positive construct in authentic becoming and growth.

Key Relationships for International Student University-to-Work Transitions

International student research predominantly focuses on the initial and middle stages of their sojourn. Our research, however, specifically addresses how relationships support international students to successfully navigate the late-stage transition from university to work. In this qualitative study, we interviewed 18 international students from diverse cultures, ages, and professions with an emphasis on their last year of university and 3 years post-graduation. We found six major themes: (a) building strong friendships supported the decision to stay, (b) career decision making is a group effort, (c) relationships with supervisors and mentors led to career opportunities, (d) establishing relational networks helped with finding first job, (e) developing connections early in their programs helped in the transition, and (f) mentoring from international alumni would provide role models. We discuss the importance of key relationships for international student success and how relationships are embedded in career decision making. Finally, we provide recommendations for career counselors.