Document Type

Dissertation - University Access Only

Award Date

2008

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department / School

Graduate Nursing

Abstract

Background and Significance: Feeling misunderstood is a universal lived experience of health evidenced by frequent use of the term in literature across several disciplines. Although feeling misunderstood surfaces in many disciplines, the meaning of feeling misunderstood has never explicitly been researched.

Theoretical Framework: Parse's humanbecoming school of thought is the theoretical framework for this study. The humanbecoming school of thought is rooted in the human sciences.

Research Question: The research question for this study is: What is the structure of the lived experience of feeling misunderstood? Purpose: The purposes of this study include: a) to advance nursing science by gaining an understanding of the structure of the lived experience of feeling misunderstood for persons who have experienced this phenomenon; b) to contribute to expansion of the nursing theory of humanbecoming in relation to feeling misunderstood; and c) to provide relevancy of feeling misunderstood to health and quality of life.

Method: Parse's phenomenological-hermeneutic research method will be used in this study. In addition to participant selection driven by ethical standards, the Parse research method is comprised of dialogical engagement, extraction-synthesis, and heuristic interpretation.
Findings/Analysis: Extraction-synthesis revealed the structure of the lived experience of feeling misunderstood for these 10 persons is: disheartening insignificance surfacing with discordant affiliations, as resignation amid resiliency emerges with inventive endeavors. Implications/Relevance: The findings from this study contribute to theory development in light of feeling misunderstood, as well as contribute to quality of life as nurses consider new ways of being present with those experiencing feeling misunderstood.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Vitiligo -- Psychological aspects

Interpersonal communication

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

196

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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