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Information Seeking Among People with Manic‐Depressive Illness
Author(s) -
Pollack Linda E.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
image: the journal of nursing scholarship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1547-5069
pISSN - 0743-5150
DOI - 10.1111/j.1547-5069.1996.tb00361.x
Subject(s) - grounded theory , typology , population , psychology , mental illness , psychiatry , clinical psychology , social psychology , medicine , qualitative research , mental health , sociology , social science , environmental health , anthropology
Objective: To develop a descriptive theory of the information‐seeking states of hospitalized people with manic‐depressive illness, as the first step in generating a substantive theory of the self‐management informational needs and activities of this population. Design: Exploratory, using grounded theory methodology. Population, Sample, Setting: Predominantly indigent and ethnically‐diverse population in one 250‐bed, university‐managed, county‐ and state‐funded acute psychiatric facility in the Southwestern U.S.A. A convenient sample of 20 women and 13 men hospitalized for manic‐depressive illness were interviewed from December 1992 through December 1993. Methods: Interviews with participants and review of medical records. Interview transcriptions were analyzed using conceptual coding and the constant comparative method. Findings: The core variable of information‐seeking states was acceptance of having manic‐depressive illness. Three groups are: information seekers, information receivers, and information rejectors. Seven informational states are: novice, recent acceptor, veteran, passive acceptor, acknowledged denier, acknowledged rejector, and complete rejector. An individual's information‐seeking state is not necessarily constant, and may shift to another state depending upon various factors. Conclusions: This typology of information‐seeking states is the firstpartofa substantive grounded theory of the self‐management informational needs and activities of people trying to cope. Clinical Implications: Results of this study suggest that patient education should address a person's current information‐seeking state. The proposed typology can be used to develop a self‐assessment tool for completion by a patient before participating in educational or therapy programs.