Friday, January 14, 2011

Time to focus it in laddies!

Hey guys,

How are you? I hope all is well :)

First of all, thank you for everyone that has been involved in the research and Sam, thank you for finding so many different articles and everyone else's comments as well. They are all insightful and I am honestly impressed.

However, as much as the literature review is informative, it can lead one astray too. It's honestly time to make a decision. January 26 & 27 are not far away and I really think it's time to focus.

So far, in all honesty, great ideas, but I have a keen interest in one specific area. This of course, will be a whole group's idea and not just mine, and once everyone agrees, we can solidify it further.

I've been thinking, reading, thinking and reading some more. So far, we have a bunch of great ideas, but because they are all awesome-tastic it's hard to narrow, especially since they are all intertwined with one another.

my fav ideas thus far are (These of course don't have to be the titles but just in a nut shell gives you an idea of what I am thinking of in that idea and after reading everything, could classify in those categories) :

- The contemplation of identity when a foreign organ is attached to your own and how e-support can provide emotional stability

Pro:
- new idea; intrigues me
- my original wish to make a difference lies here; to provide support for ovehwlemed tx patients and not just to win this competition

Con:
- new idea; might not intrigue the judges.
- attacking two ideas: not only the psychological impact of having another organ in you, another PERSON's but also the new idea of online support groups; need tactful and very carefully chosen evaluative tools


- Identity crises among an individual's own body while harvesting another's organ: The psychological impact resulting in decreased compliance

Pros:
- focusing on an issue that already exists and is very problematic as per paullette , such as med compliance.
- also continues on the topic of how pts feel when someone else's organs are attached to theirs; thus intriguing me
- we can still use e-support as our guide to increase compliance

Cons:
- when it comes to compliance, especially med compliance, we might need a little support/education/intervention from a healthcare professional
- how do we measure/try to improve that; the tools that need to measure that okay compliance is not better...it's not just about support group that will make them feel better but it's about med compliance rates too...again inviting two different areas to focus our research on : meds compliance + emotional happiness..i guess that can relate to other topics too
- is it only med compliance? what other stuff includes in compliance that this support will help us improve

- The transition of tx patients from pediatric to adult care: Interventions to bridge the gap

Pros:
- interesting topic; one that is not my original "I REALLY WANNA DO THIS", but one that I defnitely support and think that indeed, that it is problematic
- also can use our e-support idea
- to me, sounds much simpler to play around with; no age limits, everyone can join in& help each other out (the patients) ; young and old, all talking about their anxities/experiences, giving each other advice

Cons:
- might not appeal to UHN; the topic branches out to sick kids too (and maybe other hospitals); focus might be too big for UHN judges and they just wanna stick to UHN for now
- might also need a "facilitator" to help guide the patients about reality about what actually happens when you transition; this facilitator would most likely be a staff member to provide accurate information (probably an admin for the e-support group), which would then require someone to assume that responsibility, which would lead to extra payment to that person, and that is not what UHN wants to hear.
- not just facilitator about what to expect at UHN but, the facilitator needs to talk to sick kids (or perhaps other hospitals) to see what the gap is and how it can be bridged together --> more research.


 Anyhoo, these are just my off shoots (i think i really like that word?) from reading everything. Everything that you guys provide (all reasons/statements/ideas) should from now help us narrow the focus down so we can finalize our topic asap.


I am still up for meeting in person :) Def think it's worth it. send that idea (in agreement with sam's ide aof meeting up) in UHN email as well.

See ya!
- The R.
just kidding
-Rida.

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