  |
Nursing Praxis in New Zealand
Vol. 22 No.1 - March 2006
Susan Bolitho & Annette Huntington
Experiences of Maori Families Accessing Health Care for their Unwell Children: A Pilot Study
HOW TO SURVIVE (AND ENJOY) DOING A THESIS:
THE EXPERIENCES OF A METHODOLOGICAL
WORKING GROUP
Lynne S. Giddings, RN, RM, PhD, Associate Professor
School of Nursing, Auckland University of Technology
Pamela J. Wood, RN, PhD, Associate Professor
Graduate School of Nursing and Midwifery, Victoria University of Wellington
Abstract
‘Doing a thesis’, whether for Masters or PhD, can be a lonely and tortuous journey. This article offers a complementary process to the traditional apprenticeship supervision model. It describes the experiences of students who during their thesis research met monthly in a grounded theory working group. They reflected on their experiences during a focus group interview. After describing the background to how the group started in 1999 and exploring some of the ideas in the literature concerning the thesis experience, the article presents the interview. To focus the presentation, specific questions are used as category headings. Overall, the participants found attending the group was a “life-line” that gave them “hope” and was complementary to the supervision process. Through the support of peers, guidance from those ahead in the process, and consultancy with teachers and visiting methodological scholars, these students not only successfully completed their theses, but reported that they had some enjoyment along the way. This is the fifteenth in a series of articles which have been based on interviews with nursing and midwifery researchers, and were primarily designed to offer the beginning researcher a firsthand account of the experience of using particular methodologies.
Key Words:
Grounded theory, postgraduate study, peer support, thesis supervision, apprenticeship model, critical groups.
Order Code: 221A
Experiences of Maori families accessing health care
for their unwell children: A pilot study
Susan Bolitho, RN, MN, Project Public Health Nurse,
School Health Service, Regional Public Health, Lower Hutt
Annette Huntington, RN, PhD, Associate Professor of Nursing,
School of Health Sciences, Massey University, Wellington
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore with a small number of Maori families their experiences of accessing health care when their children were unwell with a respiratory condition. Although there is a wide variety of literature exploring Maori and their ability to access health care, there is a very limited amount that describes the experience of individual Maori families in accessing health care for their children. A qualitative research methodology was used in the study. Participating families were among those experiencing an admission to a children’s ward between July and December 2003. Four families were interviewed. They discussed in depth their experience of accessing health care for their unwell children. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, and three common themes were evident: family resources, choice of health service provider and parents’ feelings of vulnerability. The findings highlight that while socio-economic status plays a large part in determining the ease with which families can access the needed health care, there are other barriers within the health system which also pose difficulties for Maori.
Key Words:
Barriers, access to health services, Maori family experience.
Order Code: 221B
|