The purpose of this study, guided by Parse's human becoming theory and research methodology, was to investigate the meaning of feeling unsure for women at end-of-life. Feeling unsure is a universal experience of health that is related to the human predicament of facing uncertainty affiliated with life choices and life events; feeling unsure can often be heightened during times of trial and tribulation. Women facing end-of-life find challenges and opportunities that need to be explored for nursing to better understand what can be done to address quality of life issues with these women.
The Parse research method is a phenomenological-hermeneutic method. The method is composed of the following processes: dialogical engagement, extraction-synthesis, heuristic interpretation, and artistic expression. The research question was: What is the structure of the lived experience of feeling unsure? Through dialogical engagment with 9 women at end-of-life (ages 44-88) and the process of extraction-synthesis, three core concepts from the participant dialogues were identified. They are: apprehensive incertitude, pressing on, intimate sorrows. Thus, the lived experience of feeling unsure is apprehensive incertitude arising while pressing on with intimate sorrows. Findings of this study will provide new understanding for nurses and other health care professionals who work with persons at end-of-life. It adds new knowledge to the literature on feeling unsure, to the literature on palliative care, and to the human becoming literature. Findings of this study will be discussed in light of implications for nursing practice, nursing education, and future nursing research.
Session #1201 - End of Life
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)