The results show that no robust and valid scale exists for measuring hope. It highlights important gaps in psychometric properties of hope scales. Despite more than 40 years of research and development of hope scales, the currently available scales do not meet the standards of psychometric evaluation. This calls for efforts to improve the quality of hope scales.

According to Mayan (2009) being a qualitative researcher means to "enjoy living and learning with people to collectively make sense of our world. Qualitative research is not only done with people, it is also accomplished through people…" (p. 12). By virtue of its various definitions, qualitative research involves a great deal of human communication. Communication has a major role in all aspects of qualitative research from planning to execution. While many new qualitative research technologies have evolved over the past few decades, the most critical and influential ones are those related to communication technologies. As there is limited data about the use of communication technologies in qualitative research, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the new emerging technologies in qualitative research. We provide descriptions of the evolving technologies and highlight the importance of qualitative researchers being up to date with these developments.

Written summaries about visits with general practitioners' have influenced increased patient knowledge, satisfaction, recollection, and compliance, and strengthened the doctor-patient relationship. All previous studies about this communication pre-dated the electronic medical record (EMR) era, and none examined views from parents of children with asthma. We explored parents' perceptions about receiving a hard copy summary Letter immediately following the visit, with the pediatric asthma specialist about findings and the care plan for their child. Methods: A Parent Advisory Council helped inform this pilot study, an observational crosssectional electronic survey. Each Letter included a comprehensive summary of the child's visit with the specialist. Results: Previous findings from patients about the benefits of receiving this Letter were strongly supported by data from 51 participants. Interestingly, more than 54% of respondents preferred receiving a hard copy Letter over an electronic copy, and 98% wanted other clinicians to adopt this practice. Conclusion: Parents of children with asthma value and want timely written information of this nature from other clinicians. Practice Implications: These results can influence further asthma research to promote a change in the perceptions of clinicians, parents, and patients about timely access to health information in the EMR era.

Background: Partnerships and family inclusion are embedded in mental health policies. Shared Decision Making (SDM) is as an effective health communication model designed to facilitate service users and providers engagement in reaching jointly decisions concerning interventions. Keshet is a 15 bi-weekly academic course for family members of people with mental illnesses that enhances positive family cognitive communication skills.Purpose: To exhibit how SDM is inherently expressed in Keshet.Method: We conducted a secondary analysis of previous Keshet evaluation studies and course protocols that focused on revealing SDM use.Results: SDM was found to be a prominent feature in Keshet interventions in both the structure of the course as well as the process and procedures. Following participation in the program, making decisions jointly was found to be a prominent feature.Conclusions: Interventions such as Keshet that include an SDM approach can contribute to the integration of academic, professional and “lived experience” within a shared perspective, thus promoting an enhanced equality- based SDM model that benefits individuals as well as mental health systems.

Thinking narratively (Clandinin, 2013), we inquire into our ongoing personal and professional development within the shaping of a nested community. By traveling to diverse worlds (Lugones, 1987), we attend to some of our stories to live by (Connelly & Clandinin, 1999) and illuminate how living and telling stories within our community shapes and reshapes who we are and are becoming as narrative inquirers. Holding tensions and possibilities close, we create(d) a space where we can be ourselves and can personally and professionally learn alongside one another. It is both a safe space of coming home and starting new journeys.

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To further elaborate on the concept of hope outlined in Chap. 2, the purpose of this contribution is to investigate the role of basic beliefs and worldviews in sustaining the general perception of hope in different cultures. We begin by introducing the theoretical concepts about the nature of basic beliefs and worldviews, especially with regard to a future-oriented thinking. Employing the Perceived Hope Scale, the Dispositional Hope Scale, the Assumptive Worldviews, and several variables of subjective and psychological well-being, we investigate the levels and predictors of hope in six distinct samples of the Hope Barometer 2017 (N = 6548). Our findings support the notion of hope as a multidimensional phenomenon with certain universal features across cultures while recognizing that people in different cultures experience hope based on specific worldviews, independently from the nation’s economic wealth.

Intergenerational transmission refers to the transmission of stories, traits, abilities, ideas, behaviors, and various outcomes from parents to their children. To date, there has been little research on the intergenerational transmission of positive behavior, traits, and actions. To determine whether hope may be transmitted from one generation to the next, a qualitative study was performed, using narrative inquiry and thematic analysis. Over 4 months, four mothers of children with mental illness were engaged in repeated conversations about stories of hope related to their past and how they envisioned hope in their children. Findings indicated that hope could be transmitted to the next generation, either explicitly (verbally) or implicitly (i.e., expressed through actions involving one’s children). We conclude that also positive patterns may be transmitted both explicitly and implicitly from one generation to the next. Transmitting hope between generations played a significant role in the mothers’ experiences of hope.