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BACKGROUND: Inadequately fitting turnout coats and pants hamper mobility and safety of firewomen. Previous research has established that firewomen are dissatisfied with their turnout coats and pants. Yet, there has been minimal in-depth research into the specific fit problems and consequences of these problems on the workplace health of firewomen. OBJECTIVE: The researchers sought to uncover common fit problems firewomen have with turnout coats and pants, and their impact on mobility and safety while performing work. METHODS: The researchers performed a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews of 35 firewomen. RESULTS: The study illuminated specific fit problems firewomen have with their turnout coats and pants. These fit challenges include challenges with the overall proportions of the turnout coats and pants as well as issues of length and how the turnout coats and pants fit around their body (circumference), leading to concerns about mobility and safety. CONCLUSIONS: This study builds an understanding of specific fit problems on the ability of firewomen to do their challenging work in a safe and stress-free manner. Firewomen's protective apparel should protect and empower all firewomen. To adequately protect firewomen, manufactures should prioritize the implementation of these findings to improve the safety and mobility that firewomen's turnout coats and pants offer them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work explored U.S. mothers’ experiences of parenting young adolescent girls who are perceived by their mothers as overweight or at risk for becoming so. Data were collected via in‐depth interviews with 13 mothers and were analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Many mothers experienced socializing their daughters about issues of the body, weight, diet, and health as marked by uncertainty, ambivalence and struggle, particularly relative to four subthemes: mothers’ embodiment as challenge to ‘good mothering’, negotiating a dilemma of the ‘healthy mind’ versus the ‘healthy body’, managing discipline: how much to intervene?, and the challenge of interpersonal dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined how obese individuals acquire their motivation to undergo weight loss surgery and characterized the motivations within the framework of the self-determination theory (SDT). Participants expecting to have bariatric surgery were recruited and participated in semi-structured interviews. Interview accounts characterized different types of motivation for individuals seeking surgical weight loss treatments on the SDT continuum of relative autonomy. This study demonstrated that the more one's motivation was internally regulated, related to one's personal life and supported for competency, the more personal and hopeful were the anecdotes participants mentioned in accounts, thus the more positive the surgical outcomes were anticipated. Study limitations and future research were discussed as was the need for a systematic scheme to categorize types of motivation within the SDT, a longitudinal approach to measure actual weight loss outcomes based on the patient's presurgical motivation, and a further investigation with a larger sample size and balanced gender ratio. Practical implications of the study findings were also discussed as a novel strategy to internalize bariatric patients' motivation, further helping to improve their long-term quality of life post-surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored the role that social support plays in the lives of women who have undergone bariatric surgery. We conducted in-depth interviews with 13 women who had had bariatric surgery (M age = 53.0 years) and analyzed the data using constant comparison processes. We found that individuals in participants’ lives offered support by acting as role models and providing information, offering empathy and expressions of concern and caring, assisting with everyday responsibilities, and serving as companions. In turn, these forms of support guided participants’ behavior, calmed their concerns, enhanced their self-esteem, relieved them of daily responsibilities, and offered them companionship in their bariatric journeys. Consistent with the existing theory, differently situated individuals specialized in offering particular types of support. Although participants appreciated the support received, many indicated a desire for more or “better” support, pointing to a need for resources guiding supporters in how to best offer support to bariatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study highlighted various meanings of physical appearance in obese individuals seeking bariatric surgery. Fourteen US adult patients participated in an in-depth, semi-structured interview that took 45 minutes to 2 hours. Data were transcribed verbatim and transferred into NVivo 10. A coding scheme was developed based on the themes inferred from content analysis. To increase the trustworthiness of data, this study adopted probing and external auditing methods. The interview data discovered values and significances of physical appearance in preoperative bariatric patients, including the signals of obesity stigma in the forms of direct, indirect, and environment, a visible tool to manage the negative social image towards obesity, and an aspirational pathway to a stigma-free life following post-surgical weight loss. The roles of clothing were also examined in the social negotiation processes through appearance management. Taken together, findings of this study contribute to understanding of the patients' negative quality of life that accrue from weight-related social stigmatization and their negotiation strategies, through the lens of physical appearance. Additionally, findings suggest important implications for practice. Study limitations and future research were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]