Incarcerated populations in Canada face significant health and social challenges during transitions into and out of correctional facilities. These transitions around facilities pose disproportionate barriers to care for people living with HIV. Further research is crucial to comprehend these challenges and reimagine care concepts for people who experience structural marginalization. In this article, experiences of transitions into and out of Alberta correctional facilities for people living with HIV are explored using narrative inquiry. Conducted in a Western Canadian city from 2021 to 2022, the inquiry revolved around two men living with HIV and a history of incarceration. Through co-creating field texts and narrative accounts, their unique experiences of transitions were explored through a collaborative process of analysis. Narrative threads from Bruce and Kyle showcased a lack of narrative coherence and the presence of tensions in their lives, while also emphasizing relational agency. The findings provide avenues for health, social, and justice practitioners who support and care for individuals living with HIV and a history of incarceration to think differently about transitions. By highlighting the importance of attending to the unique identities of individuals and relationships from a position of relational agency, the study advances our understanding of transitions. Recommendations for practice and policy include (a) fostering relational agency among practitioners; (b) challenging conventional views of transitions around correctional settings; (c) incorporating peer-based programming into support services; and (d) reconsidering health, justice, and social systems to better support communities disproportionately affected by high rates of incarceration and HIV.

While the cancer advocacy community has been pivotal in progressing oncology care, supporting young adults with advanced cancer transitioning to palliative care continues to be a complex challenge. Palliative care services may not be offered by healthcare providers or engaged by young people themselves. This is in the face of the recognized value that palliative care can provide young people and their families. The purpose of this study was to explore what cancer advocates can do to support young adults (18-39 years of age) with advanced cancer in their transition to palliative care. A community-based research perspective supported engagement with members of the #AYACSM (Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Societal Movement) from the United States and Canada through social media. Analysis was guided by a reflexive thematic analysis approach to articulate four action-oriented themes: advocate for advances in the delivery of care; support healthcare provider education; mobilize knowledge and share stories; and leverage technology for advocacy efforts. Young adult cancer advocacy must span the continuum of cancer care from prevention to end-of-life. There exist gaps in advocacy efforts surrounding support for young people in their transition to and the integration of palliative care services. Creative and innovative advocacy approaches are needed. This study also showed opportunities for conducting qualitative research through an existing online community as an approach conducive to community-based research.

Finding suitable long-term care arrangements for older migrants in Europe, including Norway, has been a major concern for healthcare policymakers in the last decade. However, many older people with migrant backgrounds, and to a certain extent their descendants, often prefer that care arrangements are managed within the family. Although caring for family members may be personally satisfying, it can also be a source of distress. This study explores the motivations of care among female family caregivers of older Pakistani migrants within the Norwegian Ahmadiyya community. Our data are derived from a qualitative study including individual and group interviews with 19 female family caregivers. The study participants were aged 25-62 and resided in Norway. The interviews were conducted in Urdu and English and later transcribed verbatim in English. Our findings resulted in four main themes regarding motivations for caregiving: (1) "Who else, if not the family?": care perceived as a family obligation; (2) The divine duty of caregiving; (3) Women are better at caregiving; and (4) "What will people say?": fear of judgments. The intersection of culture, religion, gender, and migration shaped caregiving as a moral practice, and those providing care were considered individuals with high moral identity. The moral identity assigned to the role of family caregivers appears to exacerbate rather than alleviate the care burden on women of migrant origin. Understanding the motivations for caregiving can shed light on ways in which better support can be provided to ethnic minority families with aging members.

Previous work has demonstrated that gay, bisexual men, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) living with HIV are likely to experience intersectional stigma. However, mainstream systems often fail to recognize how power and privilege shape this experience. Such a complex psychological phenomenon requires an in-depth reflective inquiry that acknowledges individuals as experts in their own experiences. To explicate this matter, this study aimed to develop an understanding of how intersectional stigma impacts the experiences of GBM living with HIV and to illuminate how contexts (un)fuel inequities. The semi-structured interviews with five Filipino GBM living with HIV were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Exploration of their accounts elucidated how cultural elements fueled power dynamics and privilege, which in turn shaped intersectional stigma and their experiences. Narratives accentuated how Filipino GBM living with HIV situate themselves from victims to agents of change who empower and liberate others in the community. Insights from this study underscore the critical role of collective actions in bridging gaps in inequities and guiding the improvement of policies and interventions that are well-suited to the context and culturally appropriate for people living with HIV and other multiply marginalized populations.

Despite the methodological spread of virtual photovoice, alignments to and potential advances for the participatory action research (PAR) and knowledge dissemination (KD) components of in-person photovoice are poorly understood. Detailing the PAR and KD processes, practices, and products drawn from a virtual photovoice study examining men's experiences of and perspectives about equitable intimate partner relationships, the current article offers three thematic findings. The first theme describes adapting established analytics of preview, review, and cross-photo comparisons to categorize and select images from a large collection of participant-produced photographs ( = 714). Specifically, detailed are the reconciling of researchers deciding which images and accompanying narratives to include guided by PAR principles. Theme 2, , chronicles participant voting through Zoom to collectively decide and subsequently discuss their favorite photographs. While anonymity for the poll was democratizing in terms of participant equality for voting on the photographs, connecting men virtually from diverse locales could differentiate cultural norms. The third theme details the potential benefits and challenges for reaching diverse end-users. Evident was the importance of marketing and media for driving traffic to the online exhibition, and the centrality of interactivity for fostering engagement to build and adjust photovoice e-health interventions. With virtual photovoice continuing to grow in popularity post COVID-19, this article offers important methodological lessons for adapting and advancing components of in-person PAR and KD.

Self-management is pivotal for effective chronic disease management. However, this concept remains unexplored among people with endometriosis, who often experience chronic pain and significant impacts on their quality of life. This research explored participants' experience managing endometriosis and their understanding and integration of self-management into their lives. Inductive reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze transcripts from 15 semi-structured interviews among people with endometriosis. The themes captured many aspects of self-management and included (1) perceptions of control, (2) engaging in self-management behaviors, (3) active decision-makers versus recipients of care, (4) establishing a patient-provider partnership, and (5) support is vital. The extent to which participants engaged in self-management varied, however, is consistent with self-management literature for other chronic conditions suggesting that there is a role for self-management among people living with endometriosis.

In this autoethnographic study, I explore my lived experience of a chronic pain condition, the difficulty in writing about embodied experience, and the links between pain, shame, and power. Neglecting neither the complex emotional world of the individual nor the embedded cultural and social themes that continuously impact on the individual, at its best, autoethnography bridges the divide between personal writing and social influences. In this paper, I aim to combine my lived experience of a pain condition without any apparent biological cause, to the wider issue of how we conceive and attend to embodied experience, shame, and power in qualitative health research. The implications from the study include personal emancipation, challenging the mind/body split, and emphasizing the interconnections between emotion and embodied experience, and the need for a pluralistic approach to treatment. The autoethnographic approach aims to embrace situated subjectivity and to include the experience of being a pain sufferer in the research community.

Globally, mental health problems in adolescents, alongside associated morbidity and mortality, have never been higher. Local living, working and environmental conditions, socio-economics, and intra-individual and inter-individual processes impact mental health. The risk of developing mental health problems is higher in certain areas, including East London. However, limited research explores East London adolescents' experiences of mental health. An in-depth and locally situated understanding of determinants shaping East London adolescents' happiness and sadness is needed. This study used Photovoice, a qualitative method within a community-based participatory research methodology, to generate photographic and textual data, which was analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. This method allows participants to be part of knowledge production and authors to present the data. Our findings underscore the bidirectional interplay between environmental factors and adolescents' happiness and sadness. Gratitude for nature was described as increasing happiness: adolescents connected to nature to memories, appreciation, and leisure opportunities. Adolescents were concerned about the fragility of nature in response to urban development. The urban environment was perceived as imposing, inspiring, and offering therapeutic benefits blighted by pollution. Beautiful areas were described as paradisical and lacking, revealing urban development and economic productivity disparities. Our research documents the voices of an under-researched group, revealing novel insights while empowering adolescents as co-producers of mental health research. This study indicates participatory research is valuable for granting adolescents autonomy and addressing misrepresentation. The findings implicate multiple stakeholders, including "Health in All Policies." By deepening our understanding of adolescent mental health in East London, our study can be leveraged to bolster the effectiveness and relevance of interventions for East London adolescents.

Despite national efforts, gaps persist in Ethiopian perioperative care. This reflexive thematic analysis aimed to investigate the contextual challenges faced in delivering perioperative care. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 healthcare professionals, including anesthetists, nurses, and surgeons, to gain a frontline perspective of perioperative practice realities. The analysis revealed eight interconnected themes: systemic infrastructure vulnerabilities, workforce expansion uncertainties, workforce demoralization, fragile perioperative safety culture, hierarchical structures and communication barriers, financial barriers to care, fragmented information systems, and fragile governance with sociopolitical instability. Local deficiencies in resources and equipment were amplified by global challenges, creating a precarious care environment. While workforce numbers increased, concerns persisted about competency and training quality. Systemic pressures and unmet professional needs contributed to staff demoralization. Inconsistent safety practices and top-down quality improvement initiatives hindered sustainable progress. Rigid hierarchies and departmental silos impeded effective teamwork and resource coordination. Financial constraints created significant barriers to care access and ethical dilemmas for providers. Incomplete digitalization and inconsistent documentation practices compromised continuity of care and data-driven improvements. Overarching sociopolitical instability and weak governance cascaded into healthcare system disruptions. The findings underscore the need for a multifaceted approach to strengthen perioperative care, including improving infrastructure, enhancing workforce development, fostering a culture of safety, breaking down hierarchical barriers, addressing financial accessibility, implementing robust information systems, and building resilient governance structures amidst adversity.

The objective of this research was to extend current knowledge on the psychological and emotional aspects around patients' preparation for amputation surgery. This research explored amputees' perspectives on their preparation for amputation surgery and how patients can be better supported for this procedure. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and online qualitative questionnaires with 17 amputees who underwent upper- or lower-limb amputation within the United Kingdom. The interviews were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. The analysis generated three themes describing participants' experiences of being prepared for this surgery and their ideas on how this process could be improved: (1) Making sense of amputation surgery, (2) Patients' experiences of information and support from healthcare staff, and (3) Patients' views on approaches to preparation. This research highlighted the importance of information provision and support from healthcare staff, along with the potential benefits of utilizing experiential knowledge through peer support to enhance feelings of preparedness for amputation surgery.

Organizations that work with people who trade sex for compensation (including sex work and trafficking) and who are homeless employ lived experience experts to enhance the relevance and utility of services. We sought to understand how lived experience experts become social service leaders and the conditions that influence their pathways and well-being. Influenced by anti-capitalism and anti-white-supremacy, we used an intersectional, community-engaged, constructivist grounded theory approach to conduct semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 26 adults with lived experiences who were currently employed in an organizational leadership role. Participants were ages 22-43; 50% people of color; 26% trans and gender expansive; and 62% queer. We found that lived experience experts were mostly situated either within an individualist or collectivist organizational context. Participants in the individualist context typically began their trajectories through storytelling, which contrasted with those in the collectivist context who began by organizing around a cause or policy. A cycle of internal and external validation (e.g., mentor affirmation and increased self-worth) and invalidation (e.g., insufficient pay; exploitation of their stories; and identity-based exclusion) resulted. Emerging conflicts were perceived and addressed differently depending on participants' contexts, with some additional barriers for those advocating for sex work decriminalization. Findings suggest that there may be insufficient funding structures, mentorship, and leadership development practices and policies to support lived experience experts. Left unaddressed, lived experience experts, especially those who are multiply minoritized, may transition to other roles and/or out of advocacy movements. Anti-capitalist practice, policy, and research implications that counteract harms and support employees' mental health are discussed.

Fraudulent participation is defined in the following as participation in research by individuals who, for one reason or another, intentionally provide false responses. Qualitative studies are at an increased risk of fraudulent participation when online recruitment and participation are used, and monetary incentives offered. Fraudulent participation threatens data quality and subsequent evidence-based practice, yet validated guidance on how to tackle it is lacking. This paper offers a critical reflection thereon by three separate qualitative research groups that experienced fraudulent participation in collaboration with a patient representative, a bioethicist, a legal expert, a journal deputy editor, and a chief executive of a national charity. The Prevent FRaudulent Online STudy participation (P-FROST) recommendations provide advice on (1) Study set-up (including team members and study design), (2) Monetary incentives and recruitment, (3) Data collection (screening and interview considerations), and (4) Analysis, reporting, and support. The reflection which balances the diverse perspectives of patients, researchers, funders, ethics boards, and legal teams puts forward the P-FROST recommendations to identify and prevent fraudulent participation throughout the design, ethical approval, and implementation of online qualitative research.

People living with HIV (PLHIV) in Ecuador experience challenges including discrimination, violence, and limited access to healthcare, which impacts their mental health and well-being. However, research shows that PLHIV also rely on social resources to foster resilience. In the Ecuadorian context, there is no literature exploring these narratives, which results in a lack of qualitative data to improve the reality of PLHIV in the country. To gain a deeper understanding of these stories, 15 semi-structured interviews were undertaken (15 verbatim hours) within the context of a peer- and professional-led support group for PLHIV and were analyzed through a thematic approach based on Skovdal and Daniel's conceptual framework on resilience and adversity. Findings suggest that PLHIV face multifaceted challenges across the home, community, and political-economy spheres. Families and communities can elicit pain and fear, leading individuals to avoid discussing their diagnosis due to ongoing rejection. Further, discrimination perpetuated within the public health sector, as well as societal violence, exacerbates adversity. Nevertheless, participants stress the indispensable role of family support, community networks, and accessible healthcare in fostering resilience. Specifically, support, emotional reassurance, and willingness to learn enabled PLHIV to build resilience. These findings emphasize the need for approaches that counter discrimination, enhance well-being, ensure integral and intersectional healthcare access, and promote knowledge around HIV.

Women who are giving birth need to be met with compassion and understanding from healthcare professionals. However, there are growing concerns about the perceived lack of compassion in the delivery of healthcare services in general and maternity care in particular. We conducted 15 qualitative interviews with women who had given birth in Norway within the previous year, asking them to describe their experiences of compassionate care. We aimed to explore what healthcare professionals "do" that is experienced as compassionate. The analysis was informed by Paul Gilbert's theory of compassion and a concept analysis of compassionate midwifery undertaken by Ménage and colleagues. The compassionate caring actions of healthcare professionals that were identified in the women's narratives generated five themes: attuning actions, validating actions, contextualizing actions, empowering actions, and small acts of kindness. The findings build on the prior theoretical concepts used for the study and provide a nuanced account of how women perceive compassionate care from healthcare professionals. They could contribute to understanding more of the meaning and nature of compassionate care during childbirth. The analysis indicates the importance of ensuring that compassionate care is at the very core of maternity care services.

Because their disease is largely managed in the private environment, people with chronic conditions perform "chronic homework." The environment with which self-management is coordinated forms a kind of "chronic care infrastructure" in dealing with the disease and, in the case of young adults with chronic conditions (YACCs), is essentially formed by peers. The article investigates how YACCs handle their illness in the context of their peer relationships and how peers see their own role in the context of the YACCs' self-management. What do chronic homework and chronic care infrastructures look like, if the chronic conditions concern young adults in comparatively unstable and non-committal relationships with their peers? Episodic interviews were conducted with 60 YACCs (with type 1 diabetes, cancer, chronic inflammatory bowel disease, and rare conditions) and 30 peers. The interviews were analyzed using thematic coding. The YACCs' statements were compared to the peer perspectives on a case-by-case basis. We found that peers differ in the extent to which they seek to monitor or control the YACCs' self-management. We identified three groups of YACCs: (a) those who focus on their health needs; (b) those who seek to balance their disease management with their need for sociability and belonging; and (c) those who deprioritize their illness in their everyday life in favor of peer acceptance. The multi-perspective approach to YACCs' and their peers' experiences with self-management on the one hand and referring to a range of chronic conditions on the other allows to analyze this issue in a complex and comprehensive way.

During the last three decades, an increased amount of research on errors in health care has been conducted. Studies show that physicians find it challenging to handle errors because of the blame and guilt that errors cause. Communicating with colleagues has been identified as vital for coping with errors and for creating a just culture; however, many physicians do not usually discuss their errors. Knowledge about how junior doctors experience errors is vital to ensure that they both receive emotional support and learn from errors. To capture junior doctors' perceptions and experiences, we used a qualitative, exploratory design based on virtual focus groups. We conducted seven virtual focus groups with 22 junior doctors from 11 specialties. We defined three main themes: (1) how the junior doctors conceptualized medical errors, (2) how they experienced talk about errors among colleagues, and (3) the context in which this talk took place. The participants experienced errors as challenging elements in their working life; however, they struggled to define it. They described inconsistencies regarding the reasons for discussing errors within the learning environment, with some being experienced as constructive (providing education and support) and some as destructive (involving blame and shame). There was a discrepancy between the wish to normalize error and the lack of sharing between colleagues. Our study shows that error in health care is a complex phenomenon that challenges junior doctors' navigation in clinical practice. Despite efforts to implement an open and just culture, this has not yet been achieved.

Cycle syncing is a menstrual health trend on TikTok that involves aligning exercise and diet with the four menstrual cycle phases. Cycle syncing is part of the conversation on social media about women's reproductive health. However, clinical research on the effects of cycle syncing is inconclusive, and there is the potential that this trend could further perpetuate misinformation and gender stereotypes. Research suggests that social media can affect health behaviors, highlighting the need to understand if women intend to participate in cycle syncing. Guided by the Reasoned Action Approach, this study used focus groups ( = 39) to examine young women's attitudes, normative beliefs, and control beliefs about participating in cycle syncing, and critical feminist theory to sensitize resulting themes. Results suggest that normative beliefs emphasize support for the behavior among women, yet participants suggest that men would not support this behavior. Additionally, positive beliefs about cycle syncing content sourced from inconclusive scientific literature underscores concerns regarding the potential dissemination of misinformation in women's health practices on social media. Findings also fit into a larger discussion about "hormonophobia" and contraception on social media. Theoretical implications for mixed methods research and future directions are discussed.

Despite distinct sex- and gender-related differences in the presentation and manifestation of Crohn's disease (CD), little research to date has considered men's particular experiences. Whilst hegemonic masculine ideals have been reported to negatively impact men's mental and physical health, increasingly research has emphasized that men engage in a diverse range of practices, including those beneficial to health. One such practice is posting about their illness experiences on social media. The interactive nature of posting online means that a dialogical approach, based on a relational epistemology, is particularly useful. This study therefore asked: "How do men who post publicly on social media author themselves and their experiences of CD?" Three participants were recruited, all of whom had a diagnosis of CD, wrote a blog, and posted on other social networking sites (SNSs) about CD. Two resided in Canada and one in the United Kingdom. All were white. For each participant, 2 years of multimodal social media data was downloaded. After screening, in-depth analysis was conducted using a dialogical approach focusing on three key dialogical concepts: genre, chronotope, and forms of authorship. The key findings emphasized the participants' different responses to the lack of predictability caused by CD and the different ways they used social media to gain a greater sense of control over their illness stories and identities, providing important insights into the interaction between masculine identities and illness. Finally, the potential deployment of such methods in future research and within therapeutic contexts was considered.

Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) provoke multiple symptoms and impact individuals and society as a whole. Their treatment and prevention strategies require individual's involvement in self-management strategies. Insufficient knowledge with regard to prevention, management, and treatment has been identified as a critical factor related to VLUs and their recurrence. Therapeutic patient education (TPE) proposed as part of a management strategy for this population provides unclear benefits regarding wounds healing or prevention of recurrence. The aim of the study was to develop a theory explaining how individuals with a VLU experience an individualized nurse-led TPE program regarding self-management strategies. The constructivist approach of Charmaz to the grounded theory method was used to develop the theory. A total of 26 individuals contributed to the co-construction of the theory through face-to-face or telephone semi-structured interviews. Data analysis and data collection occurs simultaneously with a comparative process to reveal the conceptual categories, apply theoretical sampling, and define theoretical saturation. The theory of "Conscientiously Engaging in Self-Management" was co-constructed with the participants encapsulating four categories: "Being influenced by my own story," "Being personally informed," "Making conscientious decisions to engage in self-adapted management strategies," and "Integrating a conscientious way of living." This theory highlights individuals' voices and stories toward their journey of VLU self-management taking contextual factors into consideration. This new theory offers new knowledge about implementation of self-management strategies for individuals living with a VLU and will inform clinical practice and contribute to the development of targeted interventions.

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is characterized by the onset of cyclic bouts of severe nausea and vomiting in chronic cannabis users. As the number of CHS diagnoses rises, it is important to understand how people experience the disease. Using a narrative framework, we explore how the symbolic meaning participants associated with cannabis shaped the way they experienced diagnosis and treatment of CHS. To do this, we relied on semi-structured interviews with 24 people who self-reported having CHS. Participants had very positive perceptions of cannabis, which contributed to them contesting the diagnosis and resisting the treatment. They initially contested the diagnosis because they believed that cannabis was beneficial and helped with nausea, that claims about the harms of cannabis were part of a larger medical conspiracy to stigmatize it, and that they had different symptoms than those with CHS. They resisted treatment recommendations of abstinence and sought to continue using cannabis by trying new routes of administration, using only certain types of cannabis, reducing the amount or frequency of use, or substituting other substances. Findings point to the importance of understanding how narratives can shape the way people respond to diagnosis and treatment.

Existing research indicates that social crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped young people's sense of self, but little is known about what identities emerging adults construct in their pandemic narratives. Following propositions of narrative identity and Terror Management Theory, this qualitative study investigated Chinese emerging adults' identity construction in their narratives of the national outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2022. Participants were 62 college students invited to share their pandemic experiences with reflections. Thematic analysis of the data suggests that the participants shared their pandemic experiences as a process of managing their death terror activated in the pandemic which threatened their sense of self and meanwhile motivated them to reconstruct who they are in the world. Based on their meaning-making capacities, the participants disclosed death awareness and vulnerabilities, adopted a temporal perspective in storytelling, emphasized their interpersonal and social connections, and made meaning out of the pandemic experiences to defend against death terror. As an outcome of their narration, a conformer-explorer identity was constructed in their pandemic narratives and we proposed a dialectical model to capture the dynamics of the construction. Although with limitations, this study contributes to our understanding of the functions of mortality salience on narrative identity among emerging adults in collectivist cultures during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.