Stroke is a life-threatening and disabling illness known to have a significant impact on families. The purpose of this study was to illuminate the long-term experience of family life after stroke of stroke survivors and their spouses and children, particularly regarding marital and parent-child relationships. Thirty-seven narrative interviews were conducted with stroke survivors and their spouses and adult children who were minors at onset of the illness. A qualitative approach inspired by Gadamer's hermeneutic and van Manen's phenomenological understanding of lived experience was used. The analysis revealed four themes: the family as a lifebuoy, absent presence, broken foundations, and finding a new marital path. Lack of communication and altered roles and relationships endangered marital equilibrium and parent-child relationships after stroke. This study highlighted the need for professional family support as families were unprepared for the life changes that occurred. Nurses and other healthcare workers should examine family relationships and communication patterns and view the family as a unit composed of unique persons with different needs. Further research on the experiences of stroke survivors' children seems urgent.

Twenty-nine persons 60 to 91 years old participated in a study concerning living with stroke sequelae. They narrated stories about two different photographs showing a person of the same age and gender as themselves being fed or eating independently. The stories were analyzed and interpreted by means of a phenomenological hermeneutic method. Some interviewees identified themselves with the actor and the action that took place in the photograph and others did not. Four themes were found: uncertainty; sadness and mourning; gratefulness, hope, and satisfaction; and isolation. The stories varied regarding completeness and expressed optimistic or pessimistic future expectations. The stories were condensed into four core stories. The emotional content of each core story was expressed by a metaphor. The tacit knowledge embedded in the interview texts, expressed through core stories and metaphors, is essential to nursing care.

The aim of this study is to illuminate the significance of the long-term influence of bodily changes on the perception of self after stroke by means of narrative interviews with 23 stroke survivors. A phenomenological-hermeneutic approach inspired by the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty and Ricoeur is the methodological framework. Zahavi's understanding of the embodied self and Leder's concept of dys-appearance along with earlier research on identity guide the comprehensive understanding of the theme. The meaning of bodily changes after stroke can be understood as living with an altered perception of self. Stroke survivors perceive their bodies as fragile, unfamiliar and unreliable and tend to objectify them. The weak and discomforting body that 'cannot' demands constant, comprehensive awareness to keep itself in play. These long-term and often permanent consequences of bodily weakness may turn stroke survivors' intentionality inwards, away from external activities and projects and relationships with others. Negative judgements from others are added to lost roles and positions and threaten the vulnerable self. Stroke survivors try to regain familiarity with their body by their life-long project of testing its boundaries. Mastering important tasks helps them strengthen their self-concept. Health care workers should be aware of the embodied self and engage in long-term dialogues with stroke survivors to strengthen positive perceptions of body and self. More research is needed to understand destructive post-stroke phenomena such as fatigue and pain and to find effective methods to help stroke survivors regain wholeness of body and self.

Aim:To compare the attitudes of Iranian and Swedish nursing students toward caring for dying persons.Materials and Methods:Their attitudes were measured with the Frommelt’s Attitude Toward Caring of the Dying and the Death Attitude Profile Revised.Results:The results indicated that the participating Iranian students were more afraid of death and less likely to give care to dying persons than the Swedish participants.Conclusion:It is suggested that theoretical education should be individualized and culturally sensitive in order to positively influence the students’ attitudes, and promote professional development.