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Mobile phone–based engagement approaches provide potential platforms for improving access to primary healthcare (PHC) services for underserved populations. We held two focus groups (February 2020) with residents (n = 25) from a low-income urban neighbourhood (downtown Vancouver, Canada), to assess recent healthcare experiences and elicit interest in mobile phone–based healthcare engagement for underserved residents. Note-based analysis, guided by interpretative description, was used to explore emerging themes. Engagement in PHC was complicated by multiple, intersecting personal-level and socio-structural factors, and experiences of stigma and discrimination from care providers. Perceived inadequacy of PHC services and pervasive discrimination reported by participants indicate a significant and ongoing need to improve client–provider relationships to address unmet health needs. Mobile phone–based engagement was endorsed, highlighting phone ownership and client–provider text-messaging, facilitated by non-clinical staff such as peers, as helpful to strengthening retention and facilitating care team connection. Concerns raised included reliability, cost, and technology and language accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative rapid analysis is one of many rapid research approaches that offer a solution to the problem of time constrained health services evaluations and avoids sacrificing the richness of qualitative data that is needed for intervention design. We describe modifications to an established team-based, rapid analysis approach that we used to rapidly collect and analyze semi-structured interview data for a developmental formative evaluation of a cardiovascular disease prevention intervention. Over 18 weeks, we conducted and analyzed 35 semi-structured interviews that were conducted with patients and health care providers in the Veterans Health Administration to identify targets for adapting the intervention in preparation for a clinical trial. We identified 12 key themes describing actionable targets for intervention modification. We highlight important methodological decisions that allowed us to maintain rigor when using qualitative rapid analysis for intervention adaptation and we provide practical guidance on the resources needed to execute similar qualitative studies. We additionally reflect on the benefits and challenges of the described approach when working within a remote research team environment. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04545489. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports findings of a qualitative study examining the perceptions of 21 Australian women professionals who conduct home visiting with families experiencing intimate partner violence. There is scant evidence documenting how home visiting professionals adapted practice to address the safety concerns of women and their children within the context of the pandemic. Practitioners noted an increase in the risk level and complexity of intimate partner violence (IPV), including the ways that perpetrators weaponized the pandemic to exert power and control over women and children. Practitioners reported on their rapid adaptation of practices, to ensure the continuation of services which included moving to online delivery methods, wearing PPE, and negotiating practice from a distance. While responses to these changes were mixed, most reported their desire to continue to use online platforms post-pandemic, reporting increased safety, flexibility, and accessibility for the majority of clients. This research addresses a gap in respect of professionals' perceptions of the issues facing survivors of IPV and of their professional practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. As policies, practices, and protocols continue to adapt to the challenging environment posed by the pandemic the experiences of professionals and service users are critical to inform these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine family members' attitudes and perceptions regarding their choice of care in the event of terminal illness, based on their experience in a caregiver's role, while a loved one was terminally ill. All participants (N = 10) had cared for an immediate family member with terminal cancer. Snowball sampling was used. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. Five themes were identified from the data. These included two themes relating to participants' experience of care, two themes in relation to participants' attitudes toward the type of care they experienced and a final theme related to the role of religion and spirituality in dealing with loss. The findings of this study support the integration of multidisciplinary healthcare teams and the introduction of holistic care as early as possible within hospitals for individuals with terminal cancer, using the biopsychosocial–spiritual model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]