A wealth of information about the biomedical aspects of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most prevalent dementia among people over age 65, stands in counterpoint to the lack of systematic inquiry around the lived experiences of people with AD. Thirteen (four women, nine men) people, recently diagnosed with early stage AD, participated in this 6-month longitudinal study. This paper reports on AD participant's interviews which focussed on their experiences of AD symptoms, relationships with family and friends, and thoughts about the future. The transcribed interviews, analysed using methodological hermeneutics, revealed a constitutive theme of agency versus objectification and explained the paradox of why people with AD use both acceptance and denial when speaking about their experiences. Participants simultaneously acknowledged and resisted aspects of their disease in order to maintain agency in the face of cognitive losses. Acknowledgement was expressed through the themes involving acceptance of the disease and its symptoms, expression of feelings about the disease, and strategies to cope with the symptoms. Resistance was expressed in themes involving denial, minimization, normalization, and reminiscence about achievements and experiences of competence. Longitudinal analyses of the narratives indicated themes held across time. This research contributes to understanding how people live with early stage AD. Living with AD should not be described as either denial or acceptance, but rather as a paradox of understanding that includes both acknowledgement and resistance.

In this research, we endeavoured to gain a clearer understanding of what impact hospice palliative care (HPC) volunteers have on family caregivers and the underlying factors that contribute to this. We conducted ten face-to-face interviews with bereaved women who had previously provided care for their spouses and who used HPC volunteers. We checked our interpretation through a feedback focus group. Using a methodological hermeneutic approach, we came to understand the unique position HPC volunteers occupy within the formal health care system. Our constitutive organizing theme was manifest throughout the women's stories in seven thematic areas that explicate the dimensions of the overarching theme: the Unique Care Link. We identified seven themes that exemplify specific ways in which HPC volunteers have a positive impact on the lives of spousal caregivers. This knowledge can be incorporated into the further development of training and support programs for HPC volunteers, and to increase the quality of volunteer HPC services provided to family members.

Despite the fact that 90% of cervical cancers can be prevented by regular Pap screening, many women are not screened regularly, particularly older women. To understand better the barriers to screening, the authors held five focus groups during April 2000 in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada. Of the 32% of women aged 45 to 70 who had not been screened over a 5-year period (1995-2000), 60 randomly selected women participated in this research. The authors analyzed discussions for themes using an inductive approach, with interpretation guided by the population health model. Women who have avoided a Pap test are falling between the cracks created by a complex interaction between personal experiences and the health system's approach to Pap screening.

This paper elicited context specific underlying beliefs for physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption and smoke-free behaviour from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and then determined whether the TPB explained significant variation in intentions and behaviour over a 1 month period in a sample of grade 7-9 (age 12-16 years) adolescents. Eighteen individual interviews and one focus group were used to elicit student beliefs. Analyses of this data produced behavioural, normative and control beliefs which were put into a TPB questionnaire completed by 183 students at time 1 and time 2. The Path analyses from the main study showed that the attitude/intention relationship was moderately large for fruit and vegetable consumption and small to moderate for being smoke free. Perceived behavioural control had a large effect on being smoke free and a moderately large effect for fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity. Intention had a large direct effect on all three behaviours. Common (e.g. feel better, more energy) and behaviour-specific (e.g., prevent yellow fingers, control my weight) beliefs emerged across the three health behaviours. These novel findings, to the adolescent population, support the importance of specific attention being given to each of the behaviours in future multi-behavioural interventions.

We invited men to discuss their volunteer careers with hospice-palliative care (HPC) to better understand how to recruit and train, retain and support, and then successfully end their volunteer experience. Nine male current or former HPC volunteers participated in face-to-face interviews which were transcribed and analyzed. The men described a complex interplay of individual characteristics with the unique roles available to HPC volunteers. The men's recruitment experiences coalesced around both individually based and organizationally based themes. Results pertaining to retention revealed the interchange between their personalities, the perks and pitfalls of the unique experiences of an HPC volunteer, and the value of the organization's support for these volunteers. Our interpretation of these experiences can help HPC organizations enhance their recruitment, retention, and support of male volunteers.