Lived Experiences of Fatherhood After Infertility

OBJECTIVE

To explore the lived experiences of fathers in the perinatal period after infertility.

DESIGN

A descriptive, phenomenological study.

SETTING

Researcher's private office and participants' homes in an Eastern Canadian province.

PARTICIPANTS

Eight fathers who met the eligibility criteria.

METHODS

We recruited a purposive sample of eight participants and held one-on-one interviews in person, by telephone, and via virtual platforms. We analyzed the verbatim transcripts of the audiotaped interviews using Colaizzi's phenomenological data analysis method.

RESULTS

We uncovered seven themes that described the lived experiences of participants: The Journey: A Long Winding Road, Roles and Responsibilities: Supporter and Protector, Support: The Often-Forgotten Parent, Challenges and Hurdles: Bumps on the Road, So Many Feelings: The Rollercoaster, Coping: Living on the Road, and Reflection: An Unforgotten Journey. Participants shared their experiences of the perinatal period after infertility as long journeys and described how bumps along the road marked these journeys. The journeys were essential parts of their lives that they continued to remember years later.

CONCLUSION

The perinatal experience after infertility is an important and remembered time for fathers. It is essential to involve and support them in the perinatal process to facilitate positive experiences and overall family health, especially after infertility. There is an ongoing need to conduct research with fathers and to develop evidence-based programming and resources to assist them in the perinatal period after infertility.

From the shadows of death into the light of acceptance: A lived experience of patients with HIV-AIDS

HIV/AIDS is one of the feared diseases worldwide. It is a disease thoroughly studied yet still incurable in this modern era. Having acquired it is like being faced with the possibility of spending life in limbo-marked by the disease, excluded from the norms of society and an outcast to many. The study has aimed to capture how patients with HIV/AIDS struggled with living with the disease, the obstacle they had to overcome and how they were able to deal with the problems that they encountered after being diagnosed with such disease. A descriptive phenomenology utilizing a semi-structured face-to-face interview was used. Four key informants (KI) from Metro Manila shared their lived experiences unreservedly. Through Colaizzi's data analysis two major themes and five subthemes reflected the lived experiences of dying persons living with HIV/AIDS: (1) Scourging of the Pessimistic Spirits (a) fear is a dark room where negatives are developed, (b) a spirit crying for succor. (2) Rise of the Optimistic Spirit (a) burning bush in the darkness, (b) transformation in the midst of the battle for life (c) acceptance as transcending condition. In learning their HIV/AIDS diagnosis, the KI had to go through a series of steps in their lives to accommodate this major trial into their identity. They had to experience the psychological distress and the physical limitations caused by the disease before discovering that they do not have to live in fear and isolation. They were able to emerge from the darkness of negativity into the light of acceptance and hope and have used their experiences as a way to teach and support others who are in the same predicament as they were before. They have also learned to accept their imminent death as part of their life.

Korean Sibling Caregivers of Individuals Diagnosed with Schizophrenia

Siblings of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia are an important source of family caregiving. Unfortunately, limited information is available about sibling caregivers because existing studies have focused on other family relationships such as parents, spouses, and children. To fill the knowledge gap, the purpose of this study is to describe Korean sibling caregivers’ experience with individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Guided by Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological methodology, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with eight individuals who have a sibling (1) diagnosed with schizophrenia and (2) hospitalized in an inpatient psychiatric unit. We discerned six key themes: sorrow, burnout, shame, different perspectives in life, acceptance, and responsibility. We categorized these themes into three groups: suffering, hope, and responsibility and obligation.

Sibling caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia experience a mixture of several emotions. Participants loved their brother or sister with schizophrenia, but at the same time they felt shame and fear. While they were burdened by the responsibilities of caregiving, they remained loyal to their sibling with schizophrenia, continuing to help their siblings reach their full potential. Although participants were confused about the symptoms of schizophrenia, they were committed to learning more about the illness.

Because we conducted the current study in Korea, the findings of this study may be unique to Korea culture. Further studies are needed to compare and contrast nuanced differences in sibling caregivers’ experience among different cultural groups.

Patient's Experience in Pediatric Primary Immunodeficiency Disorders: Computerized Classification of Questionnaires

Introduction

Primary immunodeficiency disorders (PIDs) are a heterogeneous group of more than 200 rare diseases. Timely diagnosis is of uttermost importance. Therefore, we aimed to develop a diagnostic questionnaire with computerized pattern-recognition in order to support physicians to identify suspicious patient histories.

Materials and methods

Standardized interviews were conducted with guardians of children with PID. The questionnaire based on parental observations was developed using Colaizzis’ framework for content analysis. Answers from 64 PID patients and 62 controls were analyzed by data mining methods in order to make a diagnostic prediction. Performance was evaluated by k-fold stratified cross-validation.

Results

The diagnostic support tool achieved a diagnostic sensitivity of up to 98%. The analysis of 12 interviews revealed 26 main phenomena observed by parents in the pre-diagnostic period. The questions were systematically phrased and selected resulting in a 36-item questionnaire. This was answered by 126 patients with or without PID to evaluate prediction. Item analysis revealed significant questions.

Discussion

Our approach proved suitable for recognizing patterns and thus differentiates between observations of PID patients and control groups. These findings provide the basis for developing a tool supporting physicians to consider a PID with a questionnaire. These data support the notion that patient’s experience is a cornerstone in the diagnostic process.