Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Eyes: Rare Autoimmune Liver Diseases

Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Eyes: Rare Autoimmune Liver Diseases By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD, MSPH The liver has been called a forgiving organ because of its capacity to regenerate. However, chronic unrelenting damage over years can overwhelm its regenerative abilities, resulting in permanent scarring. Well-known risk factors-being overweight, alcohol abuse, viral infections like Hepatits-C--make cirrhosis of the liver the seventh leading cause of death in the US, affecting an estimated 1 in 400 adults. 1 Yet, a small number of cirrhosis cases are caused by three rare autoimmune diseases,  autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and [...]

Qualitative analysis informs all of Inspire’s research offerings: An Inspire Engage case study

Qualitative analysis informs all of Inspire’s research offerings: An Inspire Engage case study By Monica St. Claire "Where is the understanding we have lost in knowledge?” ~T. S. Eliot 1 Inspire’s research team approaches all its work by first becoming immersed in patients’ and caregivers’ “in-the-moment” sense-making. The tool they use, qualitative research, is the listening side of scientific exploration. In its many formats - social listening, thematic analysis, linguistic analysis - qualitative research makes sense of phenomena using the meanings that people bring to them, understanding experiences through their view of the world. 2 An [...]