Family nursing

The purpose of this nursing research study was to gain a deeper understanding of the grandmother's experience of raising grandchildren when parents are substance abusers. The question guiding the study was: What is it like to be a grandmother raising grandchildren? Using van Manen's (1990) phenomenological approach, three grandmothers described their experience of raising grandchildren during tape recorded conversational interviews. Following hermeneutical thematic analysis of the transcribed texts, one overarching metatheme emerged: Transcending the Struggle of Becoming A Mother the Second Time Around. Five essential themes descriptive of the phenomenon emerged: (1) Undergoing a Change in Lifestyle; (2) Struggling Day to Day; (3) Bonding With Grandchildren; (4) Providing Guidance to Grandchildren; and, (5) Maintaining A Positive Attitude. This research study's findings portrayed the grandmother raising grandchildren as intentionally focusing on the positive aspects of her lived experience.

The purpose of this nursing research study was to gain a deeper understanding of the experience of families receiving nursing care in the home. The question guiding the study was: What is the meaning (for families) of the experience of receiving nursing care in the home? Using van Manen's phenomenological approach, six families described their experience of receiving nursing care in their homes during taped conversational interviews. Following hermeneutical thematic analysis of the transcribed texts, one common metatheme emerged: Home Nursing Care Experienced within the Gestalt of Home Health Care. Four associated sub-themes emerged: (1) Being in Relationship with the Nurse; (2) Feeling Decreased Stress/Increased Comfort; (3) Having the Nurse as Family Advocate/Mediator; and (4) Finding the Way Through Chaos to Control.