TY - JOUR A1 - Thier, Anne A1 - Holmberg, Christine T1 - The patients’ view BT - age-related macular degeneration and its effects : a meta-synthesis JF - Disability and rehabilitation : an international, multidisciplinary journal N2 - Aim:The aim of this meta-synthesis is to find out what it means for patients with age-related macular degeneration to live with visual impairment, how they cope with the illness and how they experience their medical care, including vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor therapy. Method:Inclusion criteria: qualitative studies exploring patients' experiences with age-related macular degeneration in their daily lives and with medical care, published in journals in English or German. The included studies were analysed following the rules and principles of grounded theory. Results:For the analysis, twenty-four articles matching the inclusion criteria were identified. Three main analytic themes emerged from the included studies: (i) a life shaped by losses; (ii) the burden of medical treatment; and (iii) coping with vision loss. For patients, visual impairment/vision loss means living with multiple losses in various domains of life. With the introduction of vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor therapy, patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration have a good chance of slowing down the disease progression; therapy does, however, also represent a major burden. Conclusion:New strategies need to be conceived to reduce the burden of medical treatment and to improve the dissemination of information about age-related macular degeneration. KW - Age-related macular degeneration KW - visual impairment KW - vascular KW - endothelial growth factor inhibitor therapy KW - patients' experiences KW - meta-synthesis KW - qualitative research Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2020.1775901 SN - 0963-8288 SN - 1464-5165 VL - 44 IS - 5 SP - 661 EP - 671 PB - Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schulze, Susanne A1 - Merz, Sibille A1 - Thier, Anne A1 - Tallarek, Marie A1 - König, Franziska A1 - Uhlenbrock, Greta A1 - Nübling, Matthias A1 - Lincke, Hans-Joachim A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Holmberg, Christine T1 - Psychosocial burden in nurses working in nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic BT - a cross-sectional study with quantitative and qualitative data JF - BMC health services research N2 - Background The Covid-19 pandemic led to increased work-related strain and psychosocial burden in nurses worldwide, resulting in high prevalences of mental health problems. Nurses in long-term care facilities seem to be especially affected by the pandemic. Nevertheless, there are few findings indicating possible positive changes for health care workers. Therefore, we investigated which psychosocial burdens and potential positive aspects nurses working in long-term care facilities experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods We conducted a mixed-methods study among nurses and nursing assistants working in nursing homes in Germany. The survey contained the third German version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ III). Using Welch's t-tests, we compared the COPSOQ results of our sample against a pre-pandemic reference group of geriatric nurses from Germany. Additionally, we conducted semi-structured interviews with geriatric nurses with a special focus on psychosocial stress, to reach a deeper understanding of their experiences on work-related changes and burdens during the pandemic. Data were analysed using thematic coding (Braun and Clarke). Results Our survey sample (n = 177) differed significantly from the pre-pandemic reference group in 14 out of 31 COPSOQ scales. Almost all of these differences indicated negative changes. Our sample scored significantly worse regarding the scales 'quantitative demands', 'hiding emotions', 'work-privacy conflicts', 'role conflicts', 'quality of leadership', 'support at work', 'recognition', 'physical demands', 'intention to leave profession', 'burnout', 'presenteeism' and 'inability to relax'. The interviews (n = 15) revealed six main themes related to nurses' psychosocial stress: 'overall working conditions', 'concern for residents', 'management of relatives', 'inability to provide terminal care', 'tensions between being infected and infecting others' and 'technicisation of care'. 'Enhanced community cohesion' (interviews), 'meaning of work' and 'quantity of social relations' (COPSOQ III) were identified as positive effects of the pandemic. Conclusions Results clearly illustrate an aggravation of geriatric nurses' situation and psychosocial burden and only few positive changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Pre-existing hardships seem to have further deteriorated and new stressors added to nurses' strain. The perceived erosion of care, due to an overemphasis of the technical in relation to the social and emotional dimensions of care, seems to be especially burdensome to geriatric nurses. KW - COPSOQ KW - Nurses KW - Nursing home KW - Psychosocial burden KW - Mixed-methods study KW - Covid-19 Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08333-3 SN - 1472-6963 VL - 22 IS - 1 PB - BMC CY - London ER -