Academic literature on the topic 'Van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenology'

Hermeneutic phenomenology is a research method used in qualitative research in the fields of education and other human sciences, for example nursing science. It is a widely used method example in Scandinavia, and Van Manen is well known for his hermeneutic phenomenological method. In many studies the hermeneutic phenomenological method is inarticulate or ambiguous. Researchers generally lack a common understanding of what this method actually is. One reason for that is that the expression “hermeneutic phenomenological method” is contradiction in terms. Hermeneutics and phenomenology have their own distinct history. Hermeneutics and phenomenology as philosophical disciplines have their own distinct aims and orientations. Hermeneutic is orientated to historical and relative meanings. Phenomenology in Husserlian sense is orientated to universal and absolute essences. Martin Heidegger connects hermeneutics and phenomenology in very sophisticated manner as hermeneutical phenomenology and he provides a very specific definition of his brand of phenomenology. For Heidegger, hermeneutical phenomenology is the research of the meaning of the Being as a fundamental ontology. However, this kind of phenomenology is of no use for educational qualitative research.

Introduction Mothers, who often serve as primary care-givers for their offspring, play a crucial role in the development of children. Understanding the parenting experiences of mothers who are blind can be valuable and beneficial for professional educators and health care workers who wish to provide holistic and appropriate services to both mothers who are blind and their children. This study aimed to explore the experience of mother-child integration by mothers who are blind living in Iran. Methods A hermeneutic phenomenology approach was adopted to conduct the study. Congruent with this approach, Van Manen's (1990) method consisted of six interplay activities that helped the researchers in the process of the study. Semistructured in-depth interviews were performed to produce qualitative data with nine mothers who are blind. The thematic analysis introduced by Van Manen was used to isolate and extract the meaning units, subthemes, and the main theme hidden in the lived stories of the participants. Results “Close nurturers” was the overarching theme extracted from the experience of mothers who are blind, which emerged from six themes: monitoring by alternative senses, monitoring by careful calls and staying vigilant, loving by heart and imagining in mind, discovering the child's intentions, parenting anxiety, and deficits in communication. Discussion Blindness changes the mothering behaviors of women who are blind to the extent that they often adopt a close-mothering approach in caring for their children. This approach helps them to cope with their limitations and thereby decrease their level of child-related anxiety. Health professionals should consider the concept of close nurturers to better understand the behaviors of mothers who are blind. Implications for practitioners Understanding the lived experiences of mothers with blindness can generate valuable knowledge that can be used to provide appropriate health care and other support services for these women and their children.

This article describes findings from a qualitative study that investigated the lived experiences of four mothers recovering from crack cocaine addictions who lost custody of their children. The project was guided by feminist interpretive inquiry, van Manen’s approach to hermeneutic phenomenology, and involved thematic analysis of in depth interview data. By telling the stories of these women and using their own words as well as interpretive poetry written by one of the authors to describe their suffering, our research offers important insights to professionals involved in the field of addictions.

This paper discusses the lived experiences of 10 Buddhist survivors who were seriously affected by the tsunami of 2004 in Thailand. The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of suffering from a Buddhist perspective. Buddhism, with its main focus on concept of suffering and ways to end suffering, helps strengthening coping skills of the survivors. Van Manen’s (1990) hermeneutic phenomenology provided the methodological framework for this study. Themes that reflect the meaning of their suffering experiences, response to the suffering, and Buddhist concepts that influence the meaning of suffering are presented. The implications of these findings to the nursing practice are outlined.

Limited attention has been paid to experiences of individuals with siblings diagnosed with schizophrenia. The purpose of this article is to address this gap by exploring the impact of having a brother or sister with schizophrenia. The lived experience of 6 individuals with a sibling with schizophrenia was explored using van Manen’s (1997) Hermeneutic Phenomenology. Four themes were identified: struggling to understand, struggling with the system, caring for the sibling, and seeing beyond the illness. Health care providers need to re-evaluate current approaches for assisting individuals to cope with having a sibling with schizophrenia. Inclusion in the plan of care and recognition of their struggle is essential for individuals having a sibling with schizophrenia.

This article works to unsettle the use of transcription in qualitative inquiry by troubling the truth claims of transcribed text. Building on the hermeneutic phenomenology of Van Manen, it explores the way the researcher might “write through” transcribed text to return to the two-dimensional text space a more honest reading of lived experience. It also draws on Deleuze and Guattari’s rhizomatic thinking to explore the “gruesome multiplicities” present in reality—and the ways we might honor that multiplicity in research texts. Excerpts from an inquiry into the phenomenon of “reading as not a reader” are used to illustrate.

The aim of this study was to describe the essence and the meaning of the caring conversation in psychiatric nursing. The methodological basis was the hermeneutic phenomenology described by Van Manen and data was collected in several open-ended interviews with three registered psychiatric nurses and three patients. As a result of the study nine essential themes were identified which together make up the description of the phenomenon. The patient’s suffering is the basic theme of the caring conversation. The conversation is the act that gives concrete form to the nurse’s compassion. Communion is the place where the conversation starts and ends. The caring conversation room is the relationship between the participants in the conversation. By presence, listening, and getting in touch with the story about suffering, the nurse and the patient can understand how the suffering relates to the patient’s life story.

With the escalating use of qualitative methods in health psychology, the need for the careful match between the studied topic and research design has been repeatedly stressed. The purpose of this study is to choose and substantiate the most compatible methodological approach for the use in the prospective phenomenological doctoral research investigating a lived experience of fathers of fatally ill child. This methodological paper compares three main phenomenological research approaches: Hermeneutic Phenomenology (van Manen, 1990), Psychological or Transcendental Phenomenology (Moustakas, 1994) and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 1996). The comparative analysis of these three approaches to phenomenological research shows that the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis could be viewed as the most appropriate approach for analyzing the lived experience of fathers of fatally ill child considering the specific sample of this study, character of the research topic and experience of researcher with phenomenological studies. The methodological underpinnings and possible issues of chosen approach have been discussed at the end of paper.

The topic of disability permeates medical literature. Yet, while disability as a medical condition is a focus of research and discussion, this research and discussion occurs often in neglectful ignorance of the total life experience of the individual person. This research is grounded in interpretive phenomenology. The philosophical grounding for the study draws on the works of Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty. The methodological structure of the research used van Manen’s (1990) hermeneutic phenomenology to guide a deeper understanding of the human experiences surrounding physical disability. Nine men and women living in different rural communities participated in a series of audiotaped, in-depth, unstructured interviews. The study suggests that living with disability encompasses a complex multidimensional phenomenon to be found within the context of a person’s life. Defined by physical and social barriers, living with disability denotes an interaction between impairment, activity limitation, and restricted participation. Four themes emerged that explicate the experience: (1) The Everyday Life of the Body; (2) Valuing a Rural Life; (3) Relationships in Life; and (4) Relating Time to Life. Disability was understood as a life-changing experience that entails complex time-consuming and energy-depleting processes and is defined by personal, family and social development. For the participants in this study, the lived experience of disability can be characterised by the expression: “life is not the same”. The understanding of the essential nature of this lived experience that emerged from this study has implications for health practice. The practice of disability intervention, based solely on impairment, may be inadequate to facilitate optimal health outcomes for rural people. Instead, physiotherapists can assist these people in discernment of priorities, maintaining existing relationships, advocation of rights, and finding the balance to encounter physical and societal adversity. Thus, the study suggests that health professionals need a broad conceptualisation of what constitutes legitimate knowledge for practice and a recognition that disability is an ongoing journey rather than a final destination.

Background: Breastfeeding is globally recognised as a gold standard of nutrition, recommended for the first six months of an infant’s life. Despite its benefits, most women in Ghana do not breastfeed, as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Aim: To gain in-depth understanding of first-time Ghanaian mother lived experience of breastfeeding. Design/Method: A longitudinal qualitative design was adopted, underpinned by the hermeneutic phenomenological approach, as described by van Manen (1990). The study explored the lived experiences of thirty first-time women recruited from antenatal clinic. A series of three semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted; the first in late pregnancy, the second in the first week following childbirth and the final one between four and six months postpartum. Findings: Inductive thematic analysis informed by van Manen (1990) and principles of hermeneutic interpretation allowed the emergence of four main themes: the ‘Breastfeeding Assumption,' Breastfeeding as Women’s Business,’ the Postnatal Experience of Breastfeeding and ‘Family as Enabler or Disabler’. Within the context of this study, breastfeeding is expressed as an activity within the family and social environment. The overall phenomenon that emerged was ‘Social Conformity’. This demonstrates an understanding of the breastfeeding experience suffused with emotions as women project an image of themselves as successful breast feeders in order to conform to family and social expectations. Conclusion: Findings from the study demonstrated the multifactorial dimensions of breastfeeding. Most importantly, it was identified that first-time breastfeeding women use emotion work to cope with their experience of breastfeeding, within the social context. It was suggested that midwives play a pivotal role in helping women develop realistic expectations prior to breastfeeding. Furthermore encouraging family centered education that promotes holistic support for women. The findings therefore suggested the need for better antenatal education based on evidence-based practice. Breastfeeding women require individualised support that assesses their emotional needs and offers encouragement. Developing policies that ensure training of midwives and breastfeeding advocates was recommended. Future research could explore the impact of these interventions on breastfeeding practices, helping first time women to breastfeed effectively.

Knowledge of genetic predisposition to future illness and disability creates uncertainties that shape and influence life decisions about reproduction, career, health behavior, and the need for care. Current research has not yet identified the meaning of the experience of feeling uncertain among intimate partners of persons who have received genetic information pertaining to future health status. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the meaning of uncertainty as a lived experienced among intimate partners of persons who have tested positive for a mutation in the gene causing Huntington disease (HD) but have not yet been clinically diagnosed with HD. The specific aims were to create a rich, vivid description of uncertainty as experienced by this population and to present these findings within an existential phenomenological perspective. Using van Manen's hermeneutic-phenomenological methodology, experiential descriptions from 10 intimate partners of persons in the prodromal phase of HD were obtained. Thematic aspects of the lived experience of uncertainty were uncovered and isolated; essential themes were determined; and linguistic transformations were composed. The analysis revealed four essential themes, indicating that the meaning of the lived experience of uncertainty was 1) an intangible reality characterized by 2) anticipating with ebbing and flowing disquietude while feeling 3) a weighty pull to dwell upon, towards inner turmoil and 4) a subdued presence with freeing possibilities. The implications of these findings are that nurses need to ensure adequate opportunity is created in which the meaning of the lived experience of uncertainty can be ascertained and explored among persons who are on the cusp of the inevitable but not yet graspable. Continued research is needed to further address the implications of being situated in this potentially fracturing phase of the disease trajectory and to determine appropriate interventions.

Women in the Province of Manitoba are discharged daily from provincial jails back to their communities after an interruption in their lives of anywhere from days to years. Many of these women cycle in and out of jail on a regular basis. This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the daily lifeworlds of re-imprisoned women during their return to the community. Twelve women (nine Aboriginal, three Caucasian) were interviewed. Analysis of the study themes using van Manen’s existentials: temporality, spatiality, relationality, and corporeality revealed the complex multi-systemic issues that affect women’s lived experiences. The essence of the women’s accounts provides some insight into how the role of intergenerational, personal trauma and accumulated trauma impacted their lived experiences and continues to do so when they re-enter the community. The opportunities and options that women had to make positive life changes were obscured by insidious barriers and challenges impairing their ability to avoid re-imprisonment.
May 2016

Dans la perspective de faire disparaître la dichotomie existant entre la santé et la maladie, le concept « santé-dans-la-maladie » (health-within-illness) est apparu dans les écrits infirmiers pour étudier la santé chez les personnes vivant avec une maladie chronique. Or, la recherche sur ce phénomène s’est surtout centrée sur l’expérience de santé (wellness) occultant celle de la maladie (illness). À l’heure actuelle, peu d’études ont été réalisées pour comprendre la coexistence de l’expérience de santé (wellness) et celle de maladie (illness) impliquée dans la réalité quotidienne des personnes vivant avec une maladie chronique. De plus, aucune d’entre elles ne s’est adressée à une clientèle vivant avec la sclérodermie systémique. Ainsi, cette étude avait pour but de décrire et de comprendre l’expérience de la sclérodermie systémique et celle de santé-dans-la-maladie dans le contexte d’adultes vivant avec cette maladie chronique. La perspective disciplinaire de la chercheure, en l’occurrence la philosophie du caring humain de Watson (1979, 1988, 1999, 2006, 2008), a soutenu le processus de recherche. En cohérence avec cette auteure, la méthode qualitative de type phénoménologique existentielle herméneutique élaborée par van Manen (1984, 1997, 2002) a été choisie pour encadrer ce processus. La collecte des données repose principalement sur l’expérience d’adultes québécois vivant avec la sclérodermie systémique, recueillie au moyen de 34 entretiens en profondeur réalisés auprès de 17 participants (14 femmes et trois hommes). Les résultats ont permis d’identifier quatre thèmes pour décrire d’une part, l’essence de l’expérience de la sclérodermie systémique, soit : (a) la souffrance interminable d’un corps malade; (b) la dysharmonie intérieure et relationnelle du soi; (c) le processus d’accommodation et (d) l’heuristique d’accommodation. D’autre part, les deux thèmes suivants ont émergé pour exposer l’essence de l’expérience de santé-dans-la-maladie: (a) la prise de pouvoir d’un nouveau soi et (b) l’harmonie avec l’existence. Un travail de mise en relation de ces deux essences a été effectué afin de développer une conceptualisation de l’expérience de santé-dans-la-maladie dans le contexte d’adultes québécois vivant avec la sclérodermie systémique. Ainsi, elle se conçoit comme « une dialectique dans laquelle le nouveau soi mobilise son pouvoir pour vivre en harmonie avec l’existence et pour s’accommoder à la souffrance interminable, où une dysharmonie intérieure et relationnelle est vécue dans le corps malade ». Les résultats de cette étude permettent de mieux comprendre la souffrance vécue par les personnes ayant la sclérodermie systémique de même que le processus et les stratégies d’accommodation à cette souffrance. Ils mettent également en évidence les moyens utilisés pour exercer un nouveau pouvoir sur leur vie et pour vivre en harmonie dans tous les aspects de leur existence. Enfin, la dialectique de santé-dans-la-maladie proposée dans cette étude souligne le caractère dynamique, continu et subjectif du processus d’intégration impliquant les expériences indissociables de la santé (wellness) et de la maladie (illness). Cette nouvelle conceptualisation de l’expérience de santé-dans-la-maladie, pouvant contribuer au renouvellement des pratiques de soins, suggère également une manière inédite d’exister lorsque la maladie chronique survient, soit celle d’ « être ni en santé, ni malade ».
With a view towards eliminating the existing dichotomy between illness and health, the concept of health-within-illness appeared in nursing research on health in persons living with chronic disease. Presently, research on this phenomenon is mainly centred on the experience of wellness not revealing that of illness. At the same time, few studies have been aimed at understanding the coexistence of the experience of wellness and illness involved in the daily lives of persons with chronic disease. Furthermore, none have addressed a population living with systemic sclerosis. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to describe and understand the experience of systemic sclerosis as well as that of heath-within-illness in adults living with this chronic disease. The disciplinary perspective of the researcher, in this case, Watson’s human caring philosophy (1979, 1988, 2006, 2008), supported the research process. In accordance with this author, van Manen’s (1984, 1987, 2002) hermeneutic existential phenomenological method was chosen as the basis of the research process. Data was mainly collected from the experience of adult Quebeckers living with systemic sclerosis, through 34 in-depth interviews with 17 participants (14 women and three men). The results allowed the identification of four themes that describe, on the one hand, the essence of the experience of systemic sclerosis, that is: (a) endless suffering of a diseased body; (b) the inner and relational disharmony of the self; (c) the process of adjustment and (d) adjustment heuristics. On the other hand, the following two themes emerged showing the essence of the experience of health-within-illness: (a) empowerment of a new self and (b) harmony with life. The two essences were interrelated in order to develop a conceptualisation of the experience of health-within-illness in adult Quebeckers living with systemic sclerosis. Thus, it is conceived as a “dialectic in which the new self shifts his or her power to live in harmony with life and to adjust to endless suffering while being in a diseased body that experiences inner and relational disharmony.” The results of this study allow a better understanding of the suffering experienced by persons with systemic sclerosis as well as of the process and strategies conceived to adjust to this suffering. They also highlight the means used to exert a new power on their lives and live in harmony with every aspect of their existence. Finally, the dialectic of health-within-illness that emerged from this study underlines the dynamic, continuous, and subjective character of the integrative process involving the inseparable experiences of wellness and illness. This new conceptualisation of the experience of health-within-illness, that can contribute to a renewal of health care practice, also suggests a novel way of living with chronic disease, that of “being neither in health nor in illness”.

Knowledge sharing is broadly an act of communication, and in indigenous communities of practice, knowledge sharing can be viewed as a cultural symbol making process. This process is facilitated by indigenous language as the communication tool. The characteristics of indigenous languages that include being dynamic, constantly changing as people adjust to their life circumstances and being personal, tacit, and experiential renders it closely tied down to the person who knows the language. Thus, the most appropriate way to understand the use and exchange of such knowledge, that is, the communication phenomenon of indigenous knowledge, would be to extricate the personal experiences of individuals involved in the use and exchange of the indigenous knowledge. This can be done using van Manen's phenomenology of practice.