Answer

Introduction

                Qualitative studies should provide enough and credible methodological details because it enables readers to understand studies and make judgments about the same studies (Lyons, and Coyle, 2007). It is why this study used the interpretive phenomenological analysis to examine perceptions from people who were about to undergo bariatric surgeries. Specifically, the study used video transcripts from people who were about to experience the surgery under discussion. Critical to the discussion is the fact that the study focused on themes such as surgery, illness, Associations, and sources of encouragement of the prospective patients. The results indicate that all the theme are related because the all the study participants were discussing a similar problem.

Method

                As mentioned before, the interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) technique was used for this study. Further, guidelines documented by Callary (2015) on how to conduct IPA analysis were used to improve the credibility of the results. It is critical that IPA is a qualitative analysis technique that focuses on opinions from study participants. For this study, video transcripts collected from people who were preparing for bariatric surgery were used for analysis. As a result, techniques such as abstraction, subsumption, polarization, contextualization, and mapping were used to gather information about themes from the transcripts (Smith, Flowers, and Larkin, 2009). It suffices to mention that the techniques were used when appropriate owing to the reality that different techniques suit the context differently.

Table of super-ordinate themes and themes for a Betty

Master table of super-ordinate themes and themes for the group

Analysis

Surgery was a super ordinate theme that contained themes such as anxiety prior to the surgery, expectations from the surgery, feedback after the surgery, and the date of surgeries. Similarly, illness covered themes such as inability, addiction, tested remedies, discomfort, and additional illness. It is also crucial to note that the Association super-ordinate theme covered themes like respectful people, inconsiderate people, communities, friends, and family. Further, encouragement was a superordinate theme that focused on personal encouragement, religion, and encouraging the audience. The findings indicate that people who are about to undergo bariatric surgery have themes such as the surgery, illness, Associations they associate with, and source of encouragement.

Surgery

                Form the analyzed transcripts it is clear that all the study participants intend to undergo a surgery, which is accompanied by themes such as anxiety, feedback, expectations, and date of the surgery. For instance, Betty is anxious and has expectations about the surgery because she mentions, “I’m really excited. I’m look forward to having a new body, a new life, a happier healthier me.” Clearly, the expectation aspect is indicated by the words looking forward to a happier and healthier life while the anxiety theme is highlighted by the fact that Betty is excited about the surgery. Critical to the discussion is the fact that all the participants with the exception of Lola were anxious before the surgery. Suffice to mention that from the master table above, all thee study participants had expectations from the surgery. For example, Roberta mentions, “I just wanna be able to be healthier.”

                Moreover, the results from the analysis indicate that patients must book a date before undergoing a bariatric surgery. It is because the date theme emerged among all the participants, which is evident in the master table above. It is crucial to highlight that all the participants, with the exclusion of Mike, reported exact dates of the surgery. It owes to the fact that Mike cites “around 6-8 maybe 10 weeks” as possible dates for the surgery, which is an indication of an unsure exact date of the surgery. However, the transcripts do not explain the need for exact dates. Perhaps it is because doctors who specialize in bariatric surgery have many clients and cannot perform impromptu surgeries (Buchwald, Cowan, and Pories, 2007). Above all, the transcripts indicate that all the participants intend to produce videos reporting their feedbacks from the surgery. This could be explained by the fact that obese people considering to undergo the surgery rely on opinions from the study participants to make decisions.

Illness

                Clearly, all the participants intend to visit a surgeon because they are ill (overweight or obese). However, illness emerges after considering themes such as inability, tested remedies, addiction, discomfort, and additional illness. It is important to mention that all the participants had an inability or were uncomfortable because of their illness. For instance, Mike is not able to sleep because he mentions, “sleeping is a complete nightmare.” Therefore, it could be deduced that cases of overweight or obesity could result in inabilities such as poor sleeping habits, constant exhaustion, and poor body movement (Janke, Collins, and Kozak, 2008). Analogously, discomfort is evident when Amelia cites that her condition makes her uncomfortable in her skin. This implies that overweight cases or obesity could also result in discomfort.

                It is notable that every participant, apart from Mike, had sought for solutions that are different from bariatric surgery. As evidence, the master table above indicates that Betty, Amelia, Roberta, and Lola sought different solutions, but were not satisfied with the outcomes. For example, Betty was not comfortable with the pure liquid diet, which was a possible remedy to her condition. It follows that people suffering from obesity could use remedies such as a restricted diet or using a weight bands, but bariatric surgery is the answer to the problem in question (Fulda, 2008). Ultimately, it is vital to mention that weight associated illness and addiction emerged as minor themes. As evidence, Betty and mike are known to love food, which could be the cause for their conditions (Clementi, 2007). Further, Roberta and Mike have weight-associated problems (lap disease and apnea respectively) while Lola reported the absence of weight-associated issues.

Association

                Vital to the debate is the fact that association emerged as a superordinate theme when analyzing the transcripts. It is because the participants indicated the presence of social relationships in themes such as communal association, interaction with inconsiderate people, friends, and family. For instance, Betty, Roberta, Amelia, and Lola reported interacting with inconsiderate people who either made fun them, or could not understand what it feels to be overweight. For instance, Lola cites that she was called fat in her early years of school. However, it is notable that obese people turn to online communities, family, and friends for social relationships. It is evidenced by the reality that Mike, Amelia, Roberta, and Lola interact with friends and family or members from different online communities. For example, Amelia mentions that she had many friends in addition to the fact that

Encouragement

                Clearly, people suffering from obesity have a difficult time with their social lives. Critical to the discussion is the fact that such people not only have problems with their social lives, but also find it difficult to choose bariatric surgery as a solution to their problem (Değirmenci, Kalkan-Oğuzhanoğlu, Sözeri-Varma, Ozdel,  and Fenckci, 2015). As a result, they always encourage themselves, encourage people with similar problems, or turn to religion for encouragement. For instance, Lola encourages herself by informing the audience that she is totally decided about undergoing a surgery. It is notable that all the participants encouraged their audience in one way or another. For example, Amelia believes that her video will help someone else because videos from other people encouraged her. Lastly, Roberta and Amelia use religion as a source of encouragement. As evidence, Robert mentions that “I love the Lord with all my heart,” while Amelia mentions that “I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Conclusion

                In conclusion, all the themes are connected because they all focus on obesity and surgery as a remedy to the problem. As evidence, it is evident that surgery and illness as themes emerge because the study participants were either obese, or overweight. It is also clear that themes such as encouragement and association emerge because the participants need emotional support and social relationships to deal with their problems (Carr, Friedman, and Jaffe, 2007).