Abstract: This article is presented in two parts. In the first, an outline of Heidegger's approach to phenomenology is offered. A basic premise of hermeneutic phenomenology is that people make sense of the world through the narratives they tell to themselves and to others. When the researcher uses this philosophical approach, persons communicate their experiences; the researcher interprets the experience and communicates that understanding in writing. In the second part of the paper, the experiences of four people whose partners were hospitalised out of town is described.

Abstract: Introduces institutional ethnography as an approach to sociological inquiry for health and nursing research in NZ. Provides an overview, introducing key concepts, and describing how institutional ethnography is used in research on the establishment of nurse practitioners and their services in rural primary health care.

Abstract: A paper presented as one of the four “Winter Lecture Series” hosted by the Nursing Studies unit of the Department of Education, Victoria University of Wellington. It is a critique of “ The Nursing Process” referred to commonly in nursing education programmes. It challenges the usefulness for nursing of the linear sequence of steps of assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention and evaluation.

Abstract: The author presents the results of a study carried out as part of a research project with two nurse researchers from Maastricht University in the Netherlands. The aim of this study was to examine awareness among female students aged 18 to 25 about cervical cancer and to identify factors associated with their decision or intention to enter the cervical screening programme. Students aged 18-25 were recruited from four tertiary institutions in the Wellington region. A questionnaire was available online and distributed by student health centres and the researchers. Questions covered the following areas: intentions, attitude, knowledge, awareness, modelling, and support systems and efficacy. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression and independent t-tests. The findings are presented, and factors associated with intention and participation in cervical screening are discussed. The results indicate that the information concerning the national screening programme needs to be adjusted for the different age groups.

Abstract: Part of an international project, the aim of this study was to evaluate a nurse managed primary health care clinic (Mana Health Clinic) from the perspectives of users, funders, and providers of clinical services in order to identify factors which contribute to success. The method used was Fourth Generation Evaluation (FGE) whereby, consistent with the methodological precepts of the constructivist enquiry paradigm, there was active involvement of clients in the process and outcome of the evaluation. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 13 individuals and one focus group. The data yielded four main categories: factors that contribute to success; contrasting past experience of health care with that of nurse-managed care; the effectiveness of nurse-managed care; and suggestions for change in current practice. The authors note that the results to date support a tentative conclusion of success for the clinic. As the study is on-going, summaries of the four categories were fed back to the participants for further discussion and interpretation and eventual integration with data from the similar study being undertaken in the United States. The authors conclude that this paper demonstrates how the use of an appropriate method of evaluation can itself contribute to the success of the nurse managed clinic.

Abstract: The author investigates the types of questions asked of students by lecturers working within the preceptorship model in the clinical setting. A sample of five volunteer nursing lecturers had their interactions with undergraduate students recorded. The data is analysed using two auditing approaches and qualitative content analysis.

Abstract: The authors discuss the usefulness of a generic tool to measure job stress in New Zealand workplaces, and report on a study using one such generic tool. The study involved sending questionnaires to all staff (193) who had worked at a regional women's health service for a minimum of six months. The mailed package contained the Job Stress Survey (JSS), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), demographic questions (including cultural safety), shift work questions, and a blank page for “qualitative comment”. Over 12,000 pieces of data were collected from the study but this article focuses only on the results of the JSS. The JSS can be used to determine a “job stress index” and can also be used to measure “job pressure” and “lack of organisational support”. For this study, job stress index scores were calculated and organised by occupational groupings. Midwives, nurses and doctors all cited inadequate or poor quality equipment, excessive paperwork, insufficient personal time, and frequent interruptions, as their top stressors. Three of these four stressors fall within the job pressure index. The results of the survey prompted organisational changes, including: extensive discussions; equipment being updated; management being made aware of the depth of concern felt by staff; the creation of a place for staff to have personal time; and coping intervention strategies were initiated. The authors suggest that no generic measure of job stress can fully evaluate stressors unique to a particular work setting. They support additional items being constructed and administered to assess stressors that are idiosyncratic to a particular occupational group.