Academic literature on the topic 'Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis (IPA)'

This thesis focuses on men’s experiences of having breast cancer using a qualitative methodology to provide insight into the first-hand accounts of the participants. It aims to enhance the limited existing research in this area through the use of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), exploring the psychological impact of having an illness commonly associated with women. The phenomenological and interpretative nature of IPA allows an in-depth investigation of men’s perspectives of breast cancer and explores the psychological, emotional and social impact on the participants. Interviews were carried out with six men who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the last five years. Verbatim transcripts of the interviews were analysed using IPA. Three super-ordinate themes emerged from the analysis, with a further nine sub-themes identified. The discussion focuses on Gender & masculinity in line with the first two superordinate themes, ‘Derailment from my illegitimate illness’ and ‘Being in the shadow of pink’. The third super-ordinate theme, ‘Finding value in suffering’ is discussed in line with research on Meaning-Making and ‘Posttraumatic-growth’. Insight gathered by this study is thought to help understand male breast cancer patients’ unique and specific needs, so better tailored forms of psychological support can be provided. Existential and meaning-centered practices are suggested as feasible alternative approaches to traditional psychological treatments.

This research responds to the need for a holistic understanding of the way in which people with disability and their family caregivers make sense of disability in and through their home settings. While of specific value to the spatial design disciplines, the research also enhances our understanding of disability and how its meaning is ecologically negotiated over time and space.

Anxiety is one of the most studied research topics in sport psychology literature (Guillen & Sanchez, 2009); however, even though the Olympics are considered to be one of the most pressure-filled sporting events (Birrer, Wetzel, Schmidt, & Morgan, 2012), to date there has been no research aimed specifically at investigating Olympic athletes’ competitive state anxiety and its impact on subsequent performance. Furthermore, according to Nesti (2011), in order to support athletes in dealing with their experience of anxiety, researchers must turn towards the phenomenological, real-lived experience of the athlete to uncover what might best support positive anxiety management and interpretation in competition. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to respond to the gap in Olympic athlete anxiety research by examining the phenomenological experience of competitive state anxiety for female beach volleyball players at the 2012 London Olympics. Six in-depth, phenomenological interviews were conducted with these Olympic female beach volleyball players. Results indicated that, while all athletes in this study experienced anxiety at the 2012 Olympics, it was not the reduced intensity of anxiety that positively impacted their performance but rather the athletes’ ability to recognize, manage, and positively interpret their anxiety. In addition, it was shown that self-confidence further buffered the potentially negative impacts of anxiety. It is recommended that future research focus on extending phenomenological anxiety research to other sports and genders, and to specifically examine the impact of trait anxiety, team dynamics, and the experience of flow on athletes’ anxiety interpretation.

In the UK children make the transition from primary to secondary school when they are 11 years old. The majority of pupils adjust well to their new secondary school. However, there is a minority of vulnerable pupils for whom transition is a challenging time. These children are more likely to experience negative educational outcomes during their first year in secondary school (Year 7). Therefore it is of the upmost importance to support these vulnerable children through transition. The experiences of six vulnerable Year 7 pupils were explored in this research. The pupils’ experiences of transition and of a Transition Project they had previously participated in whilst in their final year of primary school (Year 6) were examined. The data was collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews. The research adopted an interpretative phenomenological perspective to explore the participants’ experiences. The data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The findings of this research stress the importance of listening to children’s views. The main themes that emerged from the data included, ‘Struggling to Cope’, ‘The Importance of Friendship’, ‘Feeling out of Control’ and ‘Feeling Ready for Secondary School’. A rich description of the pupils’ experiences of transition and of a Transition Project is presented. This research has demonstrated that interviewing vulnerable children can yield rich and valuable data. It has also highlighted that children wish to have their views listened to and want to participate in research.

Although psychological research into manic experiences is increasing, it remains an underresearched phenomenon. In particular, there is a dearth of qualitative research exploring these experiences in a clinical sample of people diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. This study examined six participants’ experiences of mania using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Through semi-structured interviews, the participants provided detailed accounts of how they made sense of and experienced their manic states. Three master themes were described: “A mixed relationship with mania,” “A separate and controlled self”, and “The struggle to be different.” The first master theme explored the participants’ mixed and ambivalent relationship with their manic experiences. These were viewed as both alluring and dangerous, but overall the perceived costs had outweighed the benefits, for all but one of the participants. Most participants described losses in relation to giving up their manic experiences, as well as losses related to the destructive consequences of their episodes. The second master theme examined perceptions of mania as a separate, uncontrollable phenomenon, over which they had little influence. It was hypothesised that these explanations served to relieve these participants from underlying negative emotions, such as guilt, regret, shame and selfstigma. The third master theme described how manic experiences had represented struggles to be different. These included a struggle against society; a struggle to experience a preferred self; and a struggle to access very unique experiences or abilities. A number of issues were discussed in relation to the above themes. These included positive and conflicting appraisals of high moods; loss; entrapment and helplessness; ambivalence; negative moral emotions and a preferred manic identity. A range of therapeutic approaches were suggested as potentially helpful for some of these issues. These included Motivational Interviewing, Narrative, Constructivist and Compassion therapies. Additionally, the findings of the study provided support for existing therapies for Bipolar Disorder; particularly Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Interpersonal & Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT).

The implementation of telehealth applications is resource intensive and fraught with challenges unique to the people and places involved. The use of telehealth to provide clinical care to patients, educate patients and providers, and conduct research studies to advance medical science has been shown to positively affect issues of access and the quality of care. Previous research has focused on the use of specific technologies, known barriers to adoption and diffusion, and the general efficacy of these applications. Few studies have researched the role champions play in the deployment and operation of telehealth networks. The researcher proposed conducting an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of clinicians, educators and technical professionals within a successful telehealth network to determine the lived experiences that identify them as champions in the field. Three research questions were studied: 1) What do telehealth champions believe to be the human elements necessary to advance telehealth systems?; 2) How do these telehealth champions explain their empowerment during the creation and use of telehealth networks?; and 3) How do these champions use shared processes and experiences to help spur engagement? Semi-structured interviews with 16 champions from the three disciplines were conducted to explore their lived experiences as part of a telehealth network. Seven champion themes - modern pioneers; champion teams; agents of change; knowledge brokers; supported by management; advocates, not champions; and well-prepared visionaries - emerged from the iterative review and analysis of data. Findings suggest that telehealth champions are not born but instead created. They are modern pioneers who function as part of innovative telehealth teams. Champions also serve as agents of change who utilize their knowledge of disruptive technologies to advocate for improvement in established healthcare systems. They are problem solvers who serve as resources for their colleagues, organizations and collaborative networks. Telehealth champions channel the universal goals of improving patient care and expanding healthcare access to overcome adoption barriers. Applying the ideals of what it means to be champions and how they overcome barriers to new telehealth applications could prove to be very beneficial for those tasked with developing new networks.

This study embarked on exploring the experience of becoming and being a lay volunteer counsellor from a psychological perspective. Six participants were interviewed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as the research method. Race and gender are divided equally amongst Black, Caucasian, male, and female participants. Numerous dimensions relating to the lived experience of lay volunteer counsellors are investigated in the present literature, suggesting that the experience of becoming and being a lay volunteer counsellor is multifaceted. The subjective experience of each of the participants was explored, with the optimism that this exploration would expound on the multilateralism of these facets. Although specific experiences remain exclusive to each participant, the intersecting and co-creation of meanings culminated in the cultivation of themes common to the participants. These themes are examined against the literature, critically appraising supportive and distinct suggestions. As is evident from the results, participants have a profound appreciation of the stimuli which influence their experiences of lay volunteer counselling, but also of the circumstances surrounding the origins of their sense of volunteerism. Even though some of the literature addressed themes relevant to the participants’ experiences, a small number of themes could not be juxtaposed against available literature. Based on the narratives of the participants, as well as data in the literature, volunteers constitute a reasonable component of the service sector and assist a sizeable population. Therefore, the value of the lay volunteer counselling population should be recognised in order to develop further training and support programmes for this subpopulation. As it appears, recognising the essence of this value begins with appreciating the experience of becoming and being a lay volunteer counsellor. Copyright<br>Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2009.<br>Psychology<br>unrestricted

Women academics in collectivist societies, despite their significant numbers, have been of little concern to researchers. While women’s involvement in education and employment opportunities has increased and their economic positions have improved, their role pertaining to domestic responsibilities and care for the family in such societies remains the same. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research is to describe the work-life interface as experienced by Malay Muslim women academics. This study also identifies the work environment factors that assist and/or hinder these academics in managing their work-life responsibilities as well as investigating the influence of culture and religion. Diary entries and in-depth telephone interviews with seven Malay Muslim women academics were employed to capture the essence of their daily work-life experiences. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis as the research method, the findings of the study are presented under four themes: juggling multiple roles, sources of supports, impact of leadership style, and identity formation. The participants in this research provided valuable insights based on their many years of experience as academics in higher education institutions besides their roles as mothers and wives. The Malay Muslim women academics’ work-life experiences appear to be complex and multifaceted. Negotiating between professional and personal roles has an impact on the careers of women academics, their personal and family lives, and their well-being. In managing their daily work-life responsibilities, an interplay exists between Islamic values and Malay traditional customs. The customary practices which are important in the functioning of the society as a whole contribute in shaping their identity as women, family members and academics. In addition, leadership style can have a significant impact on their work-life management. For these women, the lived reality is that being an academic means having never-ending tasks that sometimes require personal sacrifices which are achieved through the support of family and work colleagues as well as their personal belief systems.

Background: Heart transplant candidates may wait a considerable and usually indeterminable length of time for a donor heart, uncertain if they will live or die. Despite this, there appears to be little research exploring how people experience this wait. Method: A qualitative design employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Male patients (n=7) on the routine waiting list for a heart transplant at an advanced heart failure service in Scotland participated in a semi-structured in-depth interview. Results: Three major themes, each with inter-related sub-themes were produced from the data. 1) ‘Threatened self identity’: this theme covered the challenge posed to the mens’ identities as a consequence of illness and their wait for transplant. This included a ‘diminished self’ and an ‘unwanted ill self’. 2) ‘Uncertain life or death’: this theme concerned the continuing uncertainty men had to live and cope with, and included ‘contemplating dying’ and ‘the unknowns of transplant’. 3) ‘Complex coping’: this theme covered the challenges of coping during the emotionally and physically challenging wait for transplant. Conclusions: The importance of finding meaning in waiting is discussed in relation to the revised transactional model of stress and coping, and the implications for health care professionals are discussed. There is a need for health care professionals to appreciate the individual meaning patients ascribe to their experiences.

This thesis details a phenomenological research study into the lived experience of living with psychosis as a longer‐term health condition in Southern England between 2012 and 2013. Ten people living with psychosis and supported by NHS Community Adult Mental Health Services participated in in‐depth interviews about their lived experience, which were analysed through the application of IPA. Five super‐ordinate themes emerged: The Awfulness, Psychosis as a Volitional ‘Other’, What is Real?, The Distressing Tyranny of Voices, and Liberation. The degree of experiential convergence within themes was high and determined by the level of explicitly or implicitly expressed separation from the psychosis. The study reveals an underestimated on‐going awfulness, specifically compounded by voice hearing. A heightened sense of vulnerability and threat is experienced and a loss of confidence in being able to keep the ‘self’ safe from the psychosis, which is perceived as a malevolent ‘other’. This is accompanied by a loss of confidence about what is real and what is not. Subjective realities suggest strongly that recovery‐supporting ‘liberating’ interventions need to go beyond anti‐psychotic medication. Findings resonate with the extant phenomenological literature and reawaken the debate about reconceptualising longer‐term psychosis as a trauma response to extraordinary and self‐ altering experiences. The thesis highlights that phenomenological research findings into the lived experience of living with psychosis as a longer –term health condition show a congruency and appear robustly salient with the subjective realities of living with psychosis yet remain underrepresented in informing both people who are living with psychosis and mental health practice. The discussion focuses on the relevance of findings for clinical practice with people living with psychosis and on issues of using phenomenological methodologies such as IPA to explore the lived experience of psychosis.