Lived Experience of Anxiety - Essay Example

?Running head: Lived Experience of Anxiety Lived Experience of Anxiety Insert Insert Grade Insert February 23 Lived Experience of Anxiety 1. Introduction to the chosen topic Anxiety is a general state of bad feeling that results into fear, nervousness, apprehension, or worrying (MediLexicon International Ltd, 2012). Causes of anxiety can be divided into two broad categories as biological or environmental factors. The biological factors are regulation and deregulation in the brain chemistry, changes in the brain activity, genetic, or medical factors whereas the environmental factors include trauma, abuse, neglect or stress of different types (Calm Clinic, 2012). Chronic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, and other mental disorders are associated with anxiety. Anxiety is common among patients undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning, a modern technology in radiography that gives images of human tissues. Some researches have indicated that about 25-37% of patients undergoing the scan experience moderate to high levels of anxiety (Tornqvist et al, 2006). The causes of anxiety among patients during MRI scanning are varied. Some of the causes are the scan environment and the levels of noise. MRI scans can take between 25 and 60 minutes (Royal Adelaide Hospital, 1998) or even more and the patient is required to stay still in this period to get good result (Tornqvist et al, 2006). Short breath in the scanner may cause anxiety. Anxiety is also caused by fear of the results that may be revealed by the scan. The anxiety can increase in certain instances leading to the disruption of the scanning process. This is disastrous to the patient as well the health-providing center. 2. Aim and purpose of the study The main aim of the study is to illuminate the lived experience of patients during an episode of anxiety. The study seeks to provide an answer to the given research questions: what are the general experiences of the patients during the MRI scanning process and how did they manage the difficulties. It will help identify the approaches that can help the radiographers to support the patients with anxiety during MRI scan to avoid the odds associated with premature termination of the scanning process. 3. The study approach- phenomenology The study will apply phenomenology approach in getting information on the above topic. Phenomenology, as a study discipline, involves the study of different structures of an individual’s experience or consciousness (Smith, 2008). The discipline is concerned with the appearance of events and things in the experience of an individual, the way these things are perceived, and the ultimate meanings that they have in the experiences of the individuals (Smith, 2008). Phenomenological approach in research involves seeking the information on first-hand experience. The approach is concerned with probing into a given phenomenon and further investigation to have a better understanding of some lived experience (Tornqvist et al., 2006). It involves an encounter with the individual, who is supposed to share his or her experience freely, with little guidance/ influence from the interviewer. A study of this nature seeks to give ‘insightful descriptions of patients’ pre-reflective experiences’ (Tornqvist et al, 2006, p.955). The research seeks information of this nature and hence the phenomenology approach is best suitable here. 4. The data collection method and qualitative The participants for the study will be drawn from the list of patients who have undergone MRI scan at the college hospitals. The researcher has accessed the patients register, through a permission from the management of the hospital, to get the contacts of these patients. Twenty individuals will be required to participate in the interview. Since some of the individuals contacted may decline to participate in the study, the researcher obtained randomly selected contacts of about 35 patients who had undergone MRI scan within the month of January 2012. The data collection process will involve interviews of patients who have undergone MRI scan at the college hospital. The study seeks a lived experience of the patients during MRI scan, the anxiety that emerged, as well as how the anxiety was managed. Since it seeks for the general views, there are no questionnaires designed with a set of questions to be answered by the participants. Instead, the interview will be an interactive session in which the participants share with the researcher their experience during the process. The researcher will make little interventions to minimize influence on the research results and avoid bias. However, to provide a little direction towards the intended research objectives, the researcher will intelligently seek clarifications on experiences with a direction towards the management approaches applied during the exercise. 5. Ethical consideration The research will be conducted in a manner that serves the interest of the participants and respects their rights. Some of the ethical principles that are to be observed include voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity, and right to service (Trochim, 2006). The researcher will not persuade or force individuals to participate in the study. Before participating in the research, the participants will be informed on the purpose of the research and that the information would not be used for any other function outside this scope. This will enable them make an informed judgment on whether or not participate in the study. The researcher respects the privacy of the participants in the study. The participants in the research will be assured of the confidentiality of the information collected. Besides, the participants will be required to provide their names. There will be a devised numeral mechanism for identifying each of the participants. The researcher will also seek permission from the ethics body of the institution before carrying out the research. Similarly, the researches should not expose the participants to some risk harm following some experimental manipulation (Trochim, 2006). This has been observed in the intended research. The research consists of no controlled experiments but a collection of data from experience of the participants. Thus, none of the participants will be exposed to some dangers of health problems through participation in the study. 6. Data analysis The data collected from the research is expected to be quite robust as the participants will be encouraged deeply to share their experiences with the researcher. Significant variations are expected in the lived experiences of the patients and the approaches that they employed in managing the difficulties during the process. The researcher is better positioned to have a guess of some of the experiences that have been revealed by pervious researches. In order to get a better insight of the emerging issues, the researcher will first go through all the interview transcripts to get an idea on the thoughts of the participants. Through note making, the researcher will make summaries of each of the interview transcripts so that emerging meanings derived by a participant can be compared to the other members. This will then be followed by a thorough scrutiny of each of the transcript to get more details on the common themes that are being addressed by the participant concerning their experience at the scanning machine. The expected results are not different from the results that have been observed in the previous researches. It is expected that a good proportion of the participants will report their feeling at the machine as being in a different world, staying in some isolation away from the rest. It is expected that the participants will express their discomfort during the scanning period when they are not required to move their body in any direction for even as long as 90 minutes. In the previous researchers, some participants reported that the scanners resembled other confined places like coffins or a vacuum with no opening and in which the occupant is wholly dependent on the others (Tornqvist et al., 2006). Of more interest to the researcher will be the approaches that the patients, who succeeded to complete the process, applied in managing the difficulties that were encountered. Different reactions by the patients to attain self-control during scanning have been encountered in the past. While some have not been moved at all by the process, some showed a little panic while others were greatly disturbed (Tornqvist et al., 2006). The approaches applied by the last two groups also varied. Some assured themselves the inability to run from the reality and essence of this process whereas others tried to shift their attentions to other issues to let everything take its own course (Tornqvist et al, 2006). More methods could still be available, and that formed the basis of this research. A proper understanding of the approaches from the first hand experience of the patients can help the radiographers to provide support to the patients who have moderate or high anxiety to ensure that they complete the scanning process. References Calm Clinic. 2012. Anxiety Disorder Causes – Myths & Reality. Retrieved from http://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety/causes MediLexicon International Ltd. 2012. What Is Anxiety? Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/anxiety/ Royal Adelaide Hospital. 1998. Information about your MRI Scan. Retrieved from http://www.users.on.net/~vision/misc/MRI-scan-information.htm Smith, D. (2008). Phenomenology. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2011 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/phenomenology/ Tornqvist, E. et al, (2006). It is like being in another world – patients’ lived experience of magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 15; pp.954–961 Trochim, W. (2006). Ethics in Research. Research Methods Knowledge Base. Retrieved from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/ethics.php. Read More