Helen Hooper | University of Central Lancashire (original) (raw)
Papers by Helen Hooper
InnovAiT: Education and inspiration for general practice, 2021
Medical professionalism is an evolving entity, requiring continual development according to shift... more Medical professionalism is an evolving entity, requiring continual development according to shifting societal priorities. The public trust that underpins the medical profession is imperative for maintaining effective partnerships with patients, their families and the wider community. This article provides an overview of what constitutes medical professionalism, including the current protocols and assessments for general practice training. The aim is to improve understanding of the current issues surrounding professionalism in primary care. Fictional case scenarios are used to illustrate modern professional dilemmas and to promote reflection on the complex interacting factors that influence professional practice and clinical decision-making.
Abstract: A longitudinal case-study of emotion and sport performance is used to illustrate findin... more Abstract: A longitudinal case-study of emotion and sport performance is used to illustrate findings of a larger interview study conducted with 12 elite (World top ten) individual sport athletes. Although athletes ' experiences were partially supportive of current theoretical standpoints, optimal states proved dynamic and related to personal, situational and social variables. Further information, gath-ered using more ethnographic approaches, will then be considered. The limitations of a reliance on coded interview data as a meaningful tool with which to explore athletes ' experiences will be discussed in relation to the featured athlete. The existence of multiple interpretations of the athlete's story, problematises the assumption that rigorous methods, as conventionally defined, can guarantee objectivity and discover a single truth. Questions are asked of the reader regarding: the veracity of accepted approaches to the collection and presentation of data; the benefits...
J Musculoskelet Pain, 2006
Page 1. Measurement of Back Pain Episode Inception in Questionnaires: A Study Combining Quantitat... more Page 1. Measurement of Back Pain Episode Inception in Questionnaires: A Study Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Methods Kate M. Dunn Henrica CW de Vet Helen Hooper Bie Nio Ong Peter R. Croft ABSTRACT. Objective ...
Sociology and Health and Illness, Mar 1, 2006
This paper builds on the body of knowledge concerning clinicianpatient relationships, patient-cen... more This paper builds on the body of knowledge concerning clinicianpatient relationships, patient-centred care and concordance. It extends the analysis to directly comparing patient and professional accounts of diagnosis, treatment and outcomes over time. Comparisons will be made between lay and clinical perspectives, but also between different professional approaches and patients' assessment of those differences. The paper is based upon an indepth qualitative analysis of two case studies: first, one patient who established concordant relationships with the health professionals who treated her back pain; second, one patient who had both concordant and discordant relationships with health professionals. The issues explored centre on the determinants of concordant/discordant therapeutic relationships and whether greater attention given to the meaning of illness leads to improved care.
The Sociological Review, 2004
Pain narratives encounter the problem of verbalising private and internalised experiences. Words ... more Pain narratives encounter the problem of verbalising private and internalised experiences. Words appear to fall short of giving meaning to the feelings and impact of pain. In this paper we report on how people describe their low back pain and the way in which they claim to present this to clinicians. In the research interviews they need to establish themselves as believable narrators and provide accounts of how they legitimise their pain in clinical encounters. As a result, the interviews provide complex and layered narratives of pain and its representation.
Sociology of Health and Illness, 2006
This paper builds on the body of knowledge concerning clinicianpatient relationships, patient-cen... more This paper builds on the body of knowledge concerning clinicianpatient relationships, patient-centred care and concordance. It extends the analysis to directly comparing patient and professional accounts of diagnosis, treatment and outcomes over time. Comparisons will be made between lay and clinical perspectives, but also between different professional approaches and patients' assessment of those differences. The paper is based upon an indepth qualitative analysis of two case studies: first, one patient who established concordant relationships with the health professionals who treated her back pain; second, one patient who had both concordant and discordant relationships with health professionals. The issues explored centre on the determinants of concordant/discordant therapeutic relationships and whether greater attention given to the meaning of illness leads to improved care.
Forum Qualitative …, 2003
A longitudinal case-study of emotion and sport performance is used to illustrate findings of a la... more A longitudinal case-study of emotion and sport performance is used to illustrate findings of a larger interview study conducted with 12 elite (World top ten) individual sport athletes. Although athletes' experiences were partially supportive of current theoretical standpoints, optimal states
Quality of Life Research, 2005
The World Health Organization has proposed participation restriction to reflect the societal cons... more The World Health Organization has proposed participation restriction to reflect the societal consequences of health conditions. Despite its importance, participation restriction appears to be inconsistently represented or absent from the content of many health status instruments. This paper describes the development and testing of a new self-complete measure of participation restriction from the conceptual basis of participation as an individual's perception of their actual involvement in life situations. The psychometric properties (face, content and construct validity, responder burden, performance and repeatability) of the instrument were examined using qualitative and quantitative methods. Person-perceived participation restriction did not reflect the frequency of participation but was associated with participants' expectations, aspirations, and needs, as well as contextual factors. We conclude that the instrument can provide estimates of person-perceived participation restriction in population surveys.
Musculoskeletal Care, 2004
This study aimed to explore the effects of participants&a... more This study aimed to explore the effects of participants' perceptions of support, ways of coping and feelings of control, on their accounts of well-being. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and explored the dynamics of participants' accounts of coping with their everyday lives. Four categories of coping mechanisms were evident in all participants' accounts: support during the medical consultation, nurse support, social support, and comparative strategies. This paper focuses on just one of the themes that emerged from our analysis. Further insight into coping mechanisms was provided by the prevalence of comparative coping strategies. A comparison with previous disease states was used by every participant. This comparison enhanced their sense of control and fostered a sense of well-being. Social comparison was used by seven participants to show themselves how fortunate they were in relation to others with RA. Comparative coping has been identified as an important strategy adopted by these participants that could be explored in further intervention-based studies of coping.
Journal Of Musculoskeletal Pain, 2006
Page 1. Measurement of Back Pain Episode Inception in Questionnaires: A Study Combining Quantitat... more Page 1. Measurement of Back Pain Episode Inception in Questionnaires: A Study Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Methods Kate M. Dunn Henrica CW de Vet Helen Hooper Bie Nio Ong Peter R. Croft ABSTRACT. Objective ...
Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, 2006
This study aimed to investigate the thoughts and reasoning of respondents in relation to their ex... more This study aimed to investigate the thoughts and reasoning of respondents in relation to their experience of back and knee pain while they were completing validated health status questionnaires as part of two epidemiological surveys. Qualitative interviews with 10 participants who were sampled from previous questionnaire responders. Content analysis identified emerging themes. Analysis allowed for a comparison with other research, for a focus on disease-specific questionnaire interpretations, and use of additional survey material (i.e. annotations alongside questionnaire items and accompanying letters). Adaptation to limitations and comparisons with previous self and/or others changed the way people responded to the standardized questions. The determination of specific periods of pain proved very difficult for respondents because pain, and low back pain in particular, was rarely experienced as a stable phenomenon. In addition, the time frames used in questionnaires were often at variance with the lived reality of pain and its effects on individuals' perceptions of time. Respondents tended to emphasize the context within which they experienced pain, and in the case of knee pain, often ranked this pain in relation to other health issues. In epidemiological studies, differences in interpretations are averaged across large samples, but we argue that a deeper understanding of the range of individual interpretations is important if one is to acknowledge the different meanings of pain within populations. The accounts of pain sufferers are highly complex and variable. Multi-method studies offer an opportunity to explore these using complementary approaches. This may lead to both more patient-centred research and health service provision.
Health Expectations, 2003
Objective To involve users in the design of a research project that aims at describing a 12-month... more Objective To involve users in the design of a research project that aims at describing a 12-month course of low back pain in an adult population sample (epidemiological strand), and to determine how patient and professional perceptions of low back pain and its treatment relate to the use of health-care and to subsequent outcome (qualitative strand). Design Three focus groups were organized in the preparatory phase of the project with general practitioners, other health professionals and low back pain sufferers. Issues pertaining to the experience of living with, or treating low back pain were explored and users were asked to identify relevant research questions for consideration within the study. Findings The focus groups revealed tensions between involving users as co-researchers for design issues and their role as sufferers and health professionals who want to share their narrative accounts of low back pain. The group discussions produced a wealth of material for analysis, but no explicitly stated research topics. Three key themes and the process of user involvement in the focus groups are discussed. Conclusions The focus group format could be restrictive in that it allows for detailed exchange between participants, but is insufficiently geared towards the production of a research agenda. We draw conclusions as to possible approaches for user involvement in health services research design.
Anthropology & Medicine, 2005
This study forms part of a longitudinal investigation of pain, disability and health care use in ... more This study forms part of a longitudinal investigation of pain, disability and health care use in primary care low back pain consulters. Sixteen purposively sampled patients and their health care professionals were interviewed about experiences with back pain and their therapeutic relationships. This case study draws on the accounts of one patient, his wife, and three health care professionals and explores the role of the informal carer in back pain care. The interview with the patient and his wife highlights the dynamics of a co-constructed narrative of back pain. The joint narrative is fundamentally supportive of the patient's condition, yet his wife's preference for a proactive approach to health care is undermined by the patient's unquestioning respect for health professionals. In addition, the patient's limited expression-of his suffering and his feelings regarding care received-results in less beneficial care where opportunities remain unfulfilled and problems unresolved. His wife's role as narrator of his pain provokes different reactions from health professionals and these are discussed. Analysis reveals a positive and mediating role for informal carers within the provision of health care. However, the construction of the patient's limited expression in opposition to his wife as an 'expert carer' raises issues around these roles in the therapeutic encounter that require further exploration. To use supportive relationships effectively there is a need to better understand the interplay between the patient and carer roles, how these roles are negotiated in the health care consultation, and the possible contradictions that this poses.
Journal of Health …, 2006
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the thoughts and reasoning of respondents in relation... more Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the thoughts and reasoning of respondents in relation to their experience of back and knee pain while they were completing validated health status questionnaires as part of two epidemiological surveys. Methods: Qualitative interviews ...
InnovAiT: Education and inspiration for general practice, 2021
Medical professionalism is an evolving entity, requiring continual development according to shift... more Medical professionalism is an evolving entity, requiring continual development according to shifting societal priorities. The public trust that underpins the medical profession is imperative for maintaining effective partnerships with patients, their families and the wider community. This article provides an overview of what constitutes medical professionalism, including the current protocols and assessments for general practice training. The aim is to improve understanding of the current issues surrounding professionalism in primary care. Fictional case scenarios are used to illustrate modern professional dilemmas and to promote reflection on the complex interacting factors that influence professional practice and clinical decision-making.
Abstract: A longitudinal case-study of emotion and sport performance is used to illustrate findin... more Abstract: A longitudinal case-study of emotion and sport performance is used to illustrate findings of a larger interview study conducted with 12 elite (World top ten) individual sport athletes. Although athletes ' experiences were partially supportive of current theoretical standpoints, optimal states proved dynamic and related to personal, situational and social variables. Further information, gath-ered using more ethnographic approaches, will then be considered. The limitations of a reliance on coded interview data as a meaningful tool with which to explore athletes ' experiences will be discussed in relation to the featured athlete. The existence of multiple interpretations of the athlete's story, problematises the assumption that rigorous methods, as conventionally defined, can guarantee objectivity and discover a single truth. Questions are asked of the reader regarding: the veracity of accepted approaches to the collection and presentation of data; the benefits...
J Musculoskelet Pain, 2006
Page 1. Measurement of Back Pain Episode Inception in Questionnaires: A Study Combining Quantitat... more Page 1. Measurement of Back Pain Episode Inception in Questionnaires: A Study Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Methods Kate M. Dunn Henrica CW de Vet Helen Hooper Bie Nio Ong Peter R. Croft ABSTRACT. Objective ...
Sociology and Health and Illness, Mar 1, 2006
This paper builds on the body of knowledge concerning clinicianpatient relationships, patient-cen... more This paper builds on the body of knowledge concerning clinicianpatient relationships, patient-centred care and concordance. It extends the analysis to directly comparing patient and professional accounts of diagnosis, treatment and outcomes over time. Comparisons will be made between lay and clinical perspectives, but also between different professional approaches and patients' assessment of those differences. The paper is based upon an indepth qualitative analysis of two case studies: first, one patient who established concordant relationships with the health professionals who treated her back pain; second, one patient who had both concordant and discordant relationships with health professionals. The issues explored centre on the determinants of concordant/discordant therapeutic relationships and whether greater attention given to the meaning of illness leads to improved care.
The Sociological Review, 2004
Pain narratives encounter the problem of verbalising private and internalised experiences. Words ... more Pain narratives encounter the problem of verbalising private and internalised experiences. Words appear to fall short of giving meaning to the feelings and impact of pain. In this paper we report on how people describe their low back pain and the way in which they claim to present this to clinicians. In the research interviews they need to establish themselves as believable narrators and provide accounts of how they legitimise their pain in clinical encounters. As a result, the interviews provide complex and layered narratives of pain and its representation.
Sociology of Health and Illness, 2006
This paper builds on the body of knowledge concerning clinicianpatient relationships, patient-cen... more This paper builds on the body of knowledge concerning clinicianpatient relationships, patient-centred care and concordance. It extends the analysis to directly comparing patient and professional accounts of diagnosis, treatment and outcomes over time. Comparisons will be made between lay and clinical perspectives, but also between different professional approaches and patients' assessment of those differences. The paper is based upon an indepth qualitative analysis of two case studies: first, one patient who established concordant relationships with the health professionals who treated her back pain; second, one patient who had both concordant and discordant relationships with health professionals. The issues explored centre on the determinants of concordant/discordant therapeutic relationships and whether greater attention given to the meaning of illness leads to improved care.
Forum Qualitative …, 2003
A longitudinal case-study of emotion and sport performance is used to illustrate findings of a la... more A longitudinal case-study of emotion and sport performance is used to illustrate findings of a larger interview study conducted with 12 elite (World top ten) individual sport athletes. Although athletes' experiences were partially supportive of current theoretical standpoints, optimal states
Quality of Life Research, 2005
The World Health Organization has proposed participation restriction to reflect the societal cons... more The World Health Organization has proposed participation restriction to reflect the societal consequences of health conditions. Despite its importance, participation restriction appears to be inconsistently represented or absent from the content of many health status instruments. This paper describes the development and testing of a new self-complete measure of participation restriction from the conceptual basis of participation as an individual's perception of their actual involvement in life situations. The psychometric properties (face, content and construct validity, responder burden, performance and repeatability) of the instrument were examined using qualitative and quantitative methods. Person-perceived participation restriction did not reflect the frequency of participation but was associated with participants' expectations, aspirations, and needs, as well as contextual factors. We conclude that the instrument can provide estimates of person-perceived participation restriction in population surveys.
Musculoskeletal Care, 2004
This study aimed to explore the effects of participants&a... more This study aimed to explore the effects of participants' perceptions of support, ways of coping and feelings of control, on their accounts of well-being. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and explored the dynamics of participants' accounts of coping with their everyday lives. Four categories of coping mechanisms were evident in all participants' accounts: support during the medical consultation, nurse support, social support, and comparative strategies. This paper focuses on just one of the themes that emerged from our analysis. Further insight into coping mechanisms was provided by the prevalence of comparative coping strategies. A comparison with previous disease states was used by every participant. This comparison enhanced their sense of control and fostered a sense of well-being. Social comparison was used by seven participants to show themselves how fortunate they were in relation to others with RA. Comparative coping has been identified as an important strategy adopted by these participants that could be explored in further intervention-based studies of coping.
Journal Of Musculoskeletal Pain, 2006
Page 1. Measurement of Back Pain Episode Inception in Questionnaires: A Study Combining Quantitat... more Page 1. Measurement of Back Pain Episode Inception in Questionnaires: A Study Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Methods Kate M. Dunn Henrica CW de Vet Helen Hooper Bie Nio Ong Peter R. Croft ABSTRACT. Objective ...
Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, 2006
This study aimed to investigate the thoughts and reasoning of respondents in relation to their ex... more This study aimed to investigate the thoughts and reasoning of respondents in relation to their experience of back and knee pain while they were completing validated health status questionnaires as part of two epidemiological surveys. Qualitative interviews with 10 participants who were sampled from previous questionnaire responders. Content analysis identified emerging themes. Analysis allowed for a comparison with other research, for a focus on disease-specific questionnaire interpretations, and use of additional survey material (i.e. annotations alongside questionnaire items and accompanying letters). Adaptation to limitations and comparisons with previous self and/or others changed the way people responded to the standardized questions. The determination of specific periods of pain proved very difficult for respondents because pain, and low back pain in particular, was rarely experienced as a stable phenomenon. In addition, the time frames used in questionnaires were often at variance with the lived reality of pain and its effects on individuals' perceptions of time. Respondents tended to emphasize the context within which they experienced pain, and in the case of knee pain, often ranked this pain in relation to other health issues. In epidemiological studies, differences in interpretations are averaged across large samples, but we argue that a deeper understanding of the range of individual interpretations is important if one is to acknowledge the different meanings of pain within populations. The accounts of pain sufferers are highly complex and variable. Multi-method studies offer an opportunity to explore these using complementary approaches. This may lead to both more patient-centred research and health service provision.
Health Expectations, 2003
Objective To involve users in the design of a research project that aims at describing a 12-month... more Objective To involve users in the design of a research project that aims at describing a 12-month course of low back pain in an adult population sample (epidemiological strand), and to determine how patient and professional perceptions of low back pain and its treatment relate to the use of health-care and to subsequent outcome (qualitative strand). Design Three focus groups were organized in the preparatory phase of the project with general practitioners, other health professionals and low back pain sufferers. Issues pertaining to the experience of living with, or treating low back pain were explored and users were asked to identify relevant research questions for consideration within the study. Findings The focus groups revealed tensions between involving users as co-researchers for design issues and their role as sufferers and health professionals who want to share their narrative accounts of low back pain. The group discussions produced a wealth of material for analysis, but no explicitly stated research topics. Three key themes and the process of user involvement in the focus groups are discussed. Conclusions The focus group format could be restrictive in that it allows for detailed exchange between participants, but is insufficiently geared towards the production of a research agenda. We draw conclusions as to possible approaches for user involvement in health services research design.
Anthropology & Medicine, 2005
This study forms part of a longitudinal investigation of pain, disability and health care use in ... more This study forms part of a longitudinal investigation of pain, disability and health care use in primary care low back pain consulters. Sixteen purposively sampled patients and their health care professionals were interviewed about experiences with back pain and their therapeutic relationships. This case study draws on the accounts of one patient, his wife, and three health care professionals and explores the role of the informal carer in back pain care. The interview with the patient and his wife highlights the dynamics of a co-constructed narrative of back pain. The joint narrative is fundamentally supportive of the patient's condition, yet his wife's preference for a proactive approach to health care is undermined by the patient's unquestioning respect for health professionals. In addition, the patient's limited expression-of his suffering and his feelings regarding care received-results in less beneficial care where opportunities remain unfulfilled and problems unresolved. His wife's role as narrator of his pain provokes different reactions from health professionals and these are discussed. Analysis reveals a positive and mediating role for informal carers within the provision of health care. However, the construction of the patient's limited expression in opposition to his wife as an 'expert carer' raises issues around these roles in the therapeutic encounter that require further exploration. To use supportive relationships effectively there is a need to better understand the interplay between the patient and carer roles, how these roles are negotiated in the health care consultation, and the possible contradictions that this poses.
Journal of Health …, 2006
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the thoughts and reasoning of respondents in relation... more Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the thoughts and reasoning of respondents in relation to their experience of back and knee pain while they were completing validated health status questionnaires as part of two epidemiological surveys. Methods: Qualitative interviews ...