Theses- Department of Applied Social Sciencehttps://research.thea.ie/handle/20.500.12065/42192024-03-29T06:19:30Z2024-03-29T06:19:30ZSome Dance to Remember: Exploring the Psychosocial Effects of the Introduction of an Adaptive Irish Céilí Dance Group Activity with People Living with Dementia and their CarersO'Shea, Sean Donalhttps://research.thea.ie/handle/20.500.12065/47362024-02-20T03:00:26Z2021-08-01T00:00:00ZSome Dance to Remember: Exploring the Psychosocial Effects of the Introduction of an Adaptive Irish Céilí Dance Group Activity with People Living with Dementia and their Carers
O'Shea, Sean Donal
There are currently 64,000 people living with dementia in Ireland and this figure is
expected to rise to 150,000 by 2045. To date, a biomedical approach to managing
the condition has been primarily adopted however, more recently, alternative
methods have gained traction. Arts-based activities, including dance, are one such
alternative.
This research aimed to explore, in the context of the psychosocial effects of dance
and movement, the experiences of facilitators and participants in a newly developed adaptive Irish Céilí dance programme for people living with dementia
and their care staff. Research which explores the use of this dance genre as an arts based activity for those living with dementia or their care staff is limited. This
research which included participants living with dementia attending, and care staff
working in, a daycare centre in the mid-west region of Ireland, therefore provides
a starting point to address this gap.
The focus of this research is on the participants’ lived experience. A qualitative
approach, utilising semi-structured interviews, researcher observations, and a
reflexive journal, was therefore deemed the most appropriate for this research. The
dance activity took place over a nine week period. Interviews were staged prior to
the first dance activity, at the mid-point of the dance programme, and after the final
dance activity. Participant consent was sought on an ongoing basis. In advance of
any data collection, ethical approval to conduct the research was sought from, and
approved by, the Limerick Institute of Technology. The data was analysed using
thematic analysis.
In the context of this research, Irish Céilí dance as an arts-based activity for those
living with dementia and their care staff resulted in beneficial psychosocial
outcomes including an enhanced ability for people living with dementia to
reminisce. Their stories and memories of attending Céilí events in their past was
evoked by participation in the dance classes and interview process. In turn,
enhanced reminiscence was observed to have a positive influence on the mood and
psychosocial well-being of both the participants living with dementia and the care
staff participants
2021-08-01T00:00:00Z“Can I still say Dad?”: An Exploration of Loss and Grief Experienced by Irish Adult Transgender Women and their FamiliesLacey, Vanessahttps://research.thea.ie/handle/20.500.12065/47352024-02-20T03:00:59Z2021-05-01T00:00:00Z“Can I still say Dad?”: An Exploration of Loss and Grief Experienced by Irish Adult Transgender Women and their Families
Lacey, Vanessa
In recent times, there has been an emergence of transgender visibility in Ireland,
with some positive changes in social attitudes regarding transgender issues
(McGuire et al, 2016). However, transgender people, who expressed their gender
identity long before this societal shift began to occur, faced particularly uncertain
futures fraught with stigmatisation, isolation, and heartbreak. This study explores
experiences of grief and loss on the part of five adult transgender women and
eleven family members of adult trans women, who undertook gender transition
during the last quarter of a century in Ireland. Notably, these gender transitions
occurred before trans people in Ireland were legally recognised.
This thesis makes an original contribution to our understanding of family
acceptance (Emerson and Rosenfeld, 1996; Lev, 2004; Zamboni, 2006) and
ambiguous loss (Norwood, 2012; Wahlig, 2014; McGuire et al, 2016; Boss, 2016;
McGuire and Catalpa, 2018) as they relate to gender transition. It argues for a
state-funded service to support trans people and their families through transition
and through their experiences of traumatic and ambiguous loss in this context,
while acknowledging the gender binary, not gender transition, as the root cause
of transgender people and their families’ experiences of loss and grief.
My conclusions regarding the essence of participants’ experiences of loss and
grief, are grounded in rich qualitative data acquired via sixteen interviews. Using
hermeneutic phenomenological analysis, I show that both trans women and their
families experienced both traumatic and ambiguous loss in the context of gender
transition. I also reveal that the trans women experienced ambiguous loss of the
gendered self throughout their lives, not only at the point of social gender
transition. I elucidate the experiences of both trans women and families
concerning grief and loss, but also in respect to resilience, revealing key coping
strategies which they have developed to successfully navigate gender-transition.
My analysis of participants’ experience, is framed by a reflexive account of my
personal experiences of gender transition, and of loss in this context.
2021-05-01T00:00:00Z“I Cry For Those Kids; Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of Loss and Grief Experienced”O'Connor, Michellehttps://research.thea.ie/handle/20.500.12065/47342024-02-16T03:00:26Z2015-07-01T00:00:00Z“I Cry For Those Kids; Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of Loss and Grief Experienced”
O'Connor, Michelle
Grandparents have traditionally stepped in as care givers during a time of
crises in the first generational family and have been referred to as ‘family
watchdogs’ (Troll 1983 cited in Gladstone et Brown 2007). However, taking on
the responsibility of grandchildren does not come without challenges and
experiences of loss and grief (Backhouse et al 2012). This study explores the
experiences of 10 grandparents raising grandchildren on a primary basis in the
Munster region of Ireland. Grandparents take on the care of grandchildren because
of the absence of adult children because of substance abuse, mental health issues,
imprisonment, abandonment or death (Ruiz et al 2004). Therefore strong
experiences of loss and grief can accompany the care giving responsibilities. Semi
structured interviews using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis allowed the
researcher to explore parenting grandparent’s experiences in performing this role.
It was found that multiple forms of loss was experienced by these grandparents
such as the loss of relationship with adult child, loss of choice and the loss of the
traditional grandparental role. Additionally, significant health implications
suggest the need to acknowledge and address the complex experiences of
grandparents who are acting as the main caregivers to their grandchildren. Health
implications found in this study included stress, exhaustion and fatigue. Strong
recommendations are made in this study to support grandparents performing this
role such as stronger support structures and specialised training for caring
professionals. Parenting grandparents experience complex and unique needs
therefore specialised training will allow compassionate and improved support to
be provided by caring profession.
2015-07-01T00:00:00ZLost & Found in Limerick: exploring the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees who have made Limerick their home.Ryan, Michellehttps://research.thea.ie/handle/20.500.12065/47322024-02-15T12:01:58Z2021-05-01T00:00:00ZLost & Found in Limerick: exploring the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees who have made Limerick their home.
Ryan, Michelle
This research explores the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees who reside
or have resided in the Irish system of Direct Provision through the lens of loss and
grief. It is an exploration of the lived experience of these individuals who seek
asylum in Ireland, a country where emigration historically is a more familiar
story. This study navigates the phenomena of loss and grief and how these relate
to the migratory journey for the asylum seeker in Ireland. There is scant published
material about the varieties of loss that migrants experience from their lived
perspective, therefore it is worthy of further exploration. This research aims to
bridge a gap between migratory grief literature and the general topic of loss and
grief within the social sciences, laying a possible foundation for future study in
this area.
A qualitative phenomenological approach was taken for this research in order to
delve into participants’ personal memories and descriptions of their lives across
their migratory journey. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten
participants and themes have been identified from these conversations. A
dynamic underpinning the research was the positioning of the researcher and how
her bias was discovered and re-discovered, acknowledged and managed as the
research was considered and eventually conducted.
Because of the elusive and potentially vulnerable nature of these participants,
recruitment for the study was done through purposive and snowball
sampling. Thematic analysis was used to interpret and summarise the main
themes associated with loss and grief, issues of identity and building resilience.
Ethical considerations were carefully applied throughout the process. The
participants who consented to involvement were living or had been recently living
in a Direct Provision centre in the greater Limerick area. Resulting themes
include the experience of ambiguous loss and disenfranchised grief along with a
connection to Ulysses Syndrome as articulated in the literature on the global
migrant studies.
This research hopes to add to the academic and social discourse on Direct
Provision, and to illustrate where there is a need for intervention and supports for
the unique psychological needs of asylum seekers.
2021-05-01T00:00:00Z