Aims and objectives : The aim was to gain in-depth understanding about individuals’ existential experiences of living with obesity. Background : People living with obesity face great vulnerability and existential challenges. The different treatments offered do not seem to meet the individual needs of persons with obesity. A deeper understanding of existential experiences from an individual perspective is needed to individualize treatment. Design : An exploratory phenomenological–hermeneutical design was used to gain a greater understanding of the existential experiences involved in living with obesity. Methods : The participants represented a convenient sample. 18 qualitative interviews were conducted and subjected to phenomenological–hermeneutical analysis. Results : Four themes emerged: shaped by childhood; captured by food; depressed by the culture ; and judged by oneself . Conclusions : The burden of being obese can be experienced as being objectified and alienated as a human being. We need to turn towards a life-world perspective, seeing each human being as a living body to overcome objectification and alienation, and then move them towards becoming subjects in their own lives, through giving space for self-love . Health care workers need to assist persons living with obesity to reduce objectification and alienation. It is important to develop intervention that has an individual, holistic approach.

Scand J Caring Sci; 2020; 34; 514-523 Putting life on hold: lived experiences of people with obesity Obesity presents challenges in everyday life, one of which involves the existential aspects of living life as a person with obesity. There is a need for understanding the existential experiences, but there is limited in-depth research about these experiences of people with obesity. The aim of this study was to gain deeper insight into the existential experiences of people dealing with obesity. We performed a qualitative study that included in-depth interviews with seven men and 14 women with obesity (body mass index ≥ 35 kg/m 2 ) aged 18-59 years. The study took a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach in which the participants' own experiences formed the basis for understanding their lifeworld. The lived experiences of people dealing with obesity were characterised by several existential challenges. One overarching theme-Putting life on hold when struggling with obesity-was developed based on three themes: The body as an impediment to living the desired life, to being oneself and to moving on in life. These findings illustrate the complex existential experience of life, body and existence faced by people dealing with obesity. Based on these findings, we discuss whether people with obesity who experience 'putting life on hold' are attuned to live their life to the fullest in some areas. Their embodied experiences seem to challenge them to experience the joy of life, to appear as a whole self and to live life in the moment. Reflecting on obesity in the context of life and life phenomena seems to provide deeper insights into the existence of people living with obesity and may help to advance a more comprehensive approach in obesity health care.

Aims and objectives: To develop and psychometrically test a self-assessment tool that measures undergraduate nursing and midwifery students' perceptions of spiritual care competence in health care practice.Background: Spiritual care is part of nurses/midwives' responsibility. There is a need to better benchmark students' competency development in spiritual care through their education. The EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard served as groundwork for the development of the EPICC Spiritual Care Competency Self-Assessment Tool.Design: Cross sectional, mixed methods design. A STROBE checklist was used. Methods:The Tool (available in English, Dutch and Norwegian) was developed by an international group. It was tested between July-October 2020 with a convenience sample of 323 nursing/midwifery students at eight universities in five countries. The Tool was tested for validity using Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, one-way ANOVA and independent samples t test. The reliability was tested by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results:The KMO test for sampling adequacy was 0.90. All, but two, items were related to the same factor. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the Tool was 0.91. Students found the Tool easy to use, and they gained new insights by completing it. However, students felt that some questions were repetitive and took time to complete. Conclusions:The Tool has construct and discriminant validity, and high internal consistency (is reliable). In addition, students found the Tool useful, especially in early stages of education. Relevance to clinical practice:The Tool affords student nurses and midwives the opportunity to self-evaluate their knowledge, skills and attitudes about spirituality and spiritual care. The Tool offers students, educators and preceptors in clinical practice a tangible way of discussing and evaluating spiritual care competency.

The results show that there seems to be a dynamic power in longing that can transform suffering and create health.

Purpose: We aimed to gain deeper insight into how people struggling with obesity handle their life situation by addressing how well-being might unfold. For many people, obesity becomes a lifelong condition characterized by repeated weight fluctuations while their weight increases gradually. From an existential perspective, constantly waiting for weight loss can cause an experience of not reaching one's full potential. How people with obesity experience well-being, within their perceived limitations, is less reflected in previous research. Methods: We established a qualitative study using in-depth interviews with seven men and 14 women with obesity (body mass index 3 35 kg/m 2) aged 18-59 years. The study had an exploratory design including a phenomenological-hermeneutic perspective, with a lifeworld approach. Results: Three themes describing aspects of well-being were developed: coming to terms with the body, restoring the broken relational balance and reorienting the pivot in life. The thematic findings were abstracted into a main theme: striving to make living bearable. The movement towards well-being can be seen as a struggle towards an experience of balance to make bearable living. Conclusions: We suggest that well-being as a dialectic between vulnerability and freedom might become a health-facilitating experience for people struggling with obesity.