Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Identity Of The Heart Patient In The Context Of The Gift Economy: Heartnet And Media Framing, Lynsey Uridge

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This health communication research examines the identity levels of the heart patient on a therapeutic website HeartNET through an empirical investigation of site interactions as manifestations of a gift economy. The thesis also explores the media’s representation of heart health in both television and print.

This research utilised a longitudinal qualitative ethnographic and netnographic approach involving twenty-six participants who completed two in-depth interviews. The first one-on-one interview occurred during the early stages of the participants’ heart journey, explored their heart story and use of interactive technology for heart health support. The second interview occurred six to twelve months later, and …

Responding To Localised Prostate Cancer : Lifeworld Reconstruction During The First Post-Diagnostic Year, David P. Wall

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis investigated the experiences of men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer, as they reconstructed their lifeworlds during the first post-diagnostic year. With the exception of health related quality of life, a review of the psychosocial research literature revealed few studies that, explored the psychosocial experience of men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer. Furthermore, the review uncovered no studies that explored the process of Iifeworld reconstruction, and only three studies that considered the role of masculinity in the responses of men to the prostate cancer experience. Such a limited understanding, about the nature and process of lifeworld reconstruction, potentially compromises …