Experience of hope: An exploratory research with bereaved mothers following perinatal death

ProblemThe negative implications of perinatal death on mothers’ mental health are documented, however little is known about their experience of hope.BackgroundWithin the broader literature, hope has contributed to better mental health and bereavement adjustment and often bereaved mothers report the importance of hope for the grieving process.AimThis study aims to explore bereaved mothers’ experience of hope following perinatal death.MethodsIndividual interviews were conducted with 33 mothers having experienced the death of an infant in the perinatal period. Data from the interviews were analysed using thematic analysis.FindingsThe mothers’ experience of hope following perinatal loss is organized into three themes: Hope disrupted by perinatal loss; Transformed hope: a new pregnancy challenged by the sense of foreboding of another loss; and Ways to restore and foster hope in life.DiscussionAlthough hope has been a motivating force for mothers to reconnect with their life plan and move on after a loss, it is also negatively affected by the experience of perinatal bereavement, social support, and health professionals’ clinical practice.ConclusionBereaved mothers have reported a disruption in their experience of hope. While some experience a loss of hope or a sense of hopelessness, others experience a transformation and restoration of hope, which is reinvested in the grieving process. Mothers’ experience of hope highlights the need for the support of a healthcare professional and may contribute to enhanced clinical practice through the promotion of bereavement care, considering the aspects that instil, maintain, and interfere with hope.     

Workplace bullying,perceived job stressors,and psychological distress: Gender and race differences in the stress process

A large body of empirical research documents the adverse mental health consequences of workplace bullying. However, less is known about gender and race differences in the processes that link workplace bullying and poor mental health. In the current study, we use structural equation modeling of survey data from the 2010 Health and Retirement Study (N = 2292) and draw on stress process theory to examine coworker support as a buffering mechanism against workplace bullying, and gender and race differences in the relationships between bullying and psychological distress. The results of the analysis indicate that coworker support serves as a protective buffer against workplace bullying, although the buffering effect is relatively small. We also find that the effects of workplace bullying more heavily impact women and persons of color. Specifically, women and African American individuals in our sample were less protected from the buffering mechanism of co-worker social support.     

Suicidal Ideation in the Palliative Care Patient: Considerations for Health Care Practice

In the present study, I outline how four social workers, with experience in working with women who self-starve, commonly known as anorexia nervosa, conceptualise this phenomenon. I conducted single, in-depth interviews with each worker and feminist discourse analysis was chosen as the method of text interpretation. Alternative (non-psychiatric) ways of understanding women's self-starvation were explicitly privileged. Hence, the alternative discourses of feminist and poststructural theories were used to design the research and analyse the data. The literature review outlines the historical ‘discovery’ of ‘anorexia nervosa’ as a discrete illness category. Contemporary and dominant ‘pathological’ perspectives and marginalised ‘cultural’ perspectives are presented. Three dominant themes emerged from the interviews. They were ‘control and perfection’, ‘femininity’ and ‘self-destruction/self-preservation’. These themes are presented, as are their critical implications for social work.