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Background and objectives Patients on in-center dialysis spend significant amounts of time in the dialysis unit; additionally, managing ESRD affects many aspects of life outside the dialysis unit. To improve the care provided to patients requiring hemodialysis, their experiences and beliefs regarding treatment must be understood. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the experiences of patients receiving in-center hemodialysis.Design, setting, participants, & measurements We searched Embase, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Google Scholar, and reference lists for primary qualitative studies published from 1995 to 2015 that explored the experiences of adult patients receiving treatment with in-center hemodialysis. A thematic synthesis was conducted.Results Seventeen studies involving 576 patients were included in the synthesis. Four analytic themes were developed. The first theme (a new dialysis-dependent self) describes the changes in identity and perceptions of self that could result from dialysis dependence. The second theme (a restricted life) describes the physical and emotional constraints that patients described as a consequence of their dependence. Some patients reported strategies that allowed them to regain a sense of optimism and influence over the future, and these contributed to the third theme (regaining control). The first three themes describe a potential for change through acceptance, adaption, and regaining a sense of control. The final theme (relationships with health professionals) describes the importance of these relationships for in-center patients and their influence on perceptions of power and support. These relationships are seen to influence the other three themes through information sharing, continuity, and personalized support.Conclusions Our synthesis has resulted in a framework that can be used to consider interventions to improve patients' experiences of in-center hemodialysis care. Focusing on interventions that are incorporated into the established relationships that patients have with their health care professionals may enable patients to progress toward a sense of control and improve satisfaction with care.

Many emergency admissions are necessary for people with cancer. Future work should focus on improving easy access to specialist advice and triage, and the process of admission; providing rapid palliation of symptoms and prompt stabilization of acute conditions, and satisfactory inpatient care; closing the circle of care for patients by actively involving primary care and palliative/end-of-life care services to address the complex needs of patients and carers.

The cancer journey is difficult in itself, but thrombosis was an additional, frightening and unexpected burden. Although the association between cancer and thromboembolism is well-known, cancer patients are not routinely educated about the risk or warning symptoms/signs of thromboembolism which may otherwise be misattributed to the cancer by patient and clinician alike. This systematic review highlights the impact of cancer-associated thrombosis on the lives of cancer patients, and calls for education for patients and clinicians to be part of routine care and further work to address this patient priority.

The new concept of Displaying Family shows how family life must not only be 'done' but also be 'seen to be done'. Both family members and external audiences need to recognise what is being conveyed during such displays—and to accept them—for these displays to be considered successful. Hence, there are multiple potential audiences for family displays. Drawing on empirical research, the article applies this important conceptual development to a study of the role of family in promoting community connectedness in a UK city which is becoming increasingly culturally diverse. Specifically, it examines the use of family display by migrant families and the observation of this by multiple audiences. The paper will consider early findings on the impact family display has on the forging of interactions and connectedness between communities and the development of a 'world building' rather than a 'nation building' sensibility. By acknowledging that the ideology of the family has both overarching themes but contextually varied interpretations, it will examine the potential of family displays—and their receipt—to allow the recognition of similarities between culturally diverse groups and to bridge the differences that extend beyond family. The article will present data from individual and group interviews with migrant families, including children, and other potential audiences of family displays to illustrate the application of this new concept.

This article reports on an analysis of 320 empirical research articles published between 1993 and 2010 in three of the leading 'childhood' journals. The study looked to establish the potential samples used in accounts of empirical research studies with children; and to explore the methodology employed. The first part of this article outlines why a consideration of the ages used in childhood research is worthy of investigation. This addresses technical, methodological and epistemological dimensions of the area. It then goes on to discuss the results of our investigations. The guiding question was 'who are the children in the social study of childhood?', and the authors conclude that there is an over-focus on a particular age group.

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This article contributes to research on the dynamic of space and social life by examining a comparatively uncommon configuration; that of the single location home/workplace. It draws on an empirical study of family-run hotels, pubs and boarding houses to examine family practices in locations which are both home and business. It considers the ways that the routines of everyday family life are prescribed by the spatial, temporal and legal demands of the business but also how families actively protect against, incorporate and resist such demands. The use of an atypical case will contribute to work on family studies by highlighting the contrasts and similarities with more mainstream settings where the home and paid employment occur in spatially discrete locations. It shows how a family practices perspective can be applicable across theoretical divides and enhance the study of spatiality.