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The effectiveness of existing weight management programmes may be improved by understanding overweight and obese people's perceptions of the reasons for successful and unsuccessful weight management. Many qualitative studies have investigated overweight and obese adults' experiences with weight management. This paper presents findings of a meta-ethnography that synthesized 17 qualitative studies of overweight and obese adults' weight management experiences, principally in the context of behavioural weight management programmes. Twelve themes were derived describing factors that overweight and obese people identify as relevant to weight management: health concerns, expectations towards weight management, attributions for weight gain, psychological barriers, psychological facilitators, self-perception and body image, stigmatization, socio-cultural factors, environmental barriers, environmental facilitators, experiences with weight management programmes and positive outcomes of programme participation. Interventions that address all of the modifiable factors identified in this review are likely to appear credible to participants and will engage with the intra- and extra-individual factors that they perceive as affecting their weight management efforts.

Objective: The lack of adequate conceptualisation and operationalisation of quality of life (QoL) limits the ability to have a consistent body of evidence to improve QoL research and practice in informal caregiving for people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).Thus, we conducted a meta-synthesis of qualitative research to improve the conceptual understanding of the experiences of MS carers and to identify factors that affect carers' QoL.Design: Systematic searches of five electronic databases yielded 17 qualitative studies which were synthesised using the principles of meta-ethnography.Results: The synthesis resulted in 9 inter-linking themes: Changes and losses; challenges revolving around MS; caregiving demands; burden of care; future concerns; external stressors; experiences of support; strategies used in managing the caregiving role; and motivating factors. Our findings suggest that MS carers can have both positive and negative experiences which may bring challenges and rewards to the carers.Conclusion: We present a proposed QoL model for MS caregiving which can be used to inform the development of interventions for MS carers to improve their QoL.However, further empirical research is needed to examine the utility of this model and to explore the concept of QoL in MS carers in more detail.Keywords: informal carers; meta-ethnography; meta-synthesis; multiple sclerosis; quality of life Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common chronic neurodegenerative diseases among adults, globally affecting approximately 2.3 million individuals (Multiple Sclerosis International Federation [MSIF], 2013). MS has an extremely variable progression, with some patients showing a steady rapid deterioration (i.e. primary progressive course), and most experiencing unpredictable exacerbations and remissions of symptoms (i.e. relapsingremitting course; Mohr et al., 1999). 3In the later stages of MS and at times of exacerbations, people with MS (pwMS) cannot manage daily living activities by themselves and can become functionally dependent on others. Generally, it is the immediate family members (e.g. spouse) or friends who take on the responsibility of caring for pwMS (Forbes, While, & Mathes, 2007), and are commonly referred to as 'carers' or 'caregivers'. A carer is someone who provides a significant amount of voluntary unpaid support and help to a friend, relative, or a neighbour, who suffers from an illness, disability, frailty, mental health problem, or addiction (Carers Trust, 2012;Carers UK, 2015; Department of Health [DoH], 2014). The word 'informal' is commonly used to distinguish voluntary unpaid carers from health professionals or care workers who get paid for providing care.As a result of the progressive, unstable and unpredictable nature of MS, caring for pwMS causes high levels of carer burden and is recognised as a potential threat to caregivers' health and well-being (Corry & While, 2009;Devins, Seland, Klein, Edworthy, & Saary, 1993). Indeed, there is consistent evidence in the current literature that overall qual...

Background Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) are a group of incurable and inherited eye conditions, and the leading cause of inherited blindness in people under the age of 60. The aim of this systematic review and meta-synthesis was to present a comprehensive overview of qualitative papers on experiences and coping strategies of adults living with RP, and how these influence quality of life. Methods A pre-registered search strategy was applied in nine databases and 12 articles met eligibility criteria. Studies included were from Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Netherlands, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, and USA. The overall sample was based on 126 people with RP (ages ranging from 18 to 85; at least 65 female). Principles of meta-ethnography were used to synthesise the articles revealing five higher-level meta-themes. Results The five higher-level meta-themes were, 1) managing identity: making sense of RP, managing autonomy and independence; 2) living with RP: practical and emotional issues; 3) experiences with healthcare professionals and other social support; 4) adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies; and 5) impact of RP on work and career. A conceptual model was developed by grouping higher-level meta-themes as intra- and inter-individual factors and how they may be implicated with coping strategies and quality of life. Conclusions This review established factors that can be explored as potential psychosocial influences in the relationship between coping strategies and quality of life in people with RP. Further understanding of these factors and mechanisms can help inform intervention development to support adaptive coping in living with RP and positively impact quality of life.

The objective of this study was to adapt the design of our weight management intervention to the needs, expectations and capabilities of potential users. In study 1, we interviewed 25 people about their experiences of weight management. The findings of these interviews were combined with findings from existing theory and research in a process of 'intervention planning' that informed the design of the intervention. Study 2 comprised in-depth think-aloud studies with a further 16 people interested in using a web-based intervention to manage their weight, in order to elicit reactions to the intervention techniques and materials. In study 1, overly intrusive and restrictive aspects of eating self-regulation were commonly cited reasons for failure to maintain weight management long-term. We therefore designed an intervention with a more flexible approach to autonomous self-regulation. This approach was broadly welcomed in study 2, but there were indications that some participants might have difficulty effectively implementing self-regulation techniques independently. A flexible and autonomous approach to changing eating habits is attractive to potential intervention users but may be difficult for some users to implement successfully.