Mid Sweden University

Our study seeks to elucidate meanings of healthcare encounters for women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV. We conducted 12 narrative interviews which were analyzed using phenomenological hermeneutic interpretation. Our analysis revealed one theme; being met as a person and not as a diagnosis with three subthemes: getting sufficient time and feeling involved in care; fulfillment of personal needs; and experiencing disrespect and injustice. We found that meanings of healthcare encounters center on the expectation of being seen as a person. Feeling disrespected and injust leaves women unsupported and could pose serious health risks.

Background

Living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV involves unpredictability dominated by an ever-present breathlessness. This often results in frequent and or long-lasting healthcare. Research shows that in encounters women are more often affected by and suffer from poor care quality, unequal access to provision of care, experience stigma, and a lack of information.

Aim

The aim was to elucidate meanings of healthcare encounters for women with COPD stage III or IV.

Methods

Phenomenological hermeneutical design where personal narrative interviews were conducted with 12 women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV.

Results

The analysis resulted in one theme; being met as a person and not as a diagnosis with three subthemes: getting sufficient time and feeling involved in care; fulfillment of personal needs; and experiencing disrespect and injustice. Women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV expressed feeling taken seriously and involved in decision-making when being actively listened to, engaged in a meaningful dialogue, and allocated time encountered by calm, reflective, and gentle healthcare professionals. Continuity of care fulfills personal needs, promoting relaxation, especially vital for those with limited energy due to severe illness. Participants expressed enhanced well-being when healthcare professionals were familiar with their medical history and observed changes between visits. Not being seen as a whole person, women with COPD stage III or IV felt not being taken seriously, especially when denied antibiotics. Fears of inadequate support arise, exacerbated by uninterested or disrespectful healthcare encounters, leading to reluctance to seek care. Prioritizing expertise over patient preferences intensifies frustration, causing feelings of disappointment, unsafety, anger, and offense. Geographic disparities, particularly in rural areas, contribute to a sense of injustice and disappointment in available healthcare choices.

Conclusion

Women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV experienced meanings of healthcare encounters that focus on the expectation of being seen as a person. Feeling disrespected and unjust leaves women unsupported could pose serious health risks. Generic person-centered care could lead to confirming healthcare encounters.

In this study, we aimed to explore and describe the experiences of parents whose children have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and the transitions of daily life. T1D is a long-term illness, and parents of children with T1D often become informal caregivers and face many challenges in their daily lives. A qualitative study design, in line with interpretive description, was used, and a sample of 10 parents of children with T1D participated in individual interviews. The COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist was used. The interviews were analyzed using interpretive descriptions. The analysis resulted in one main theme: “The realization of having taken ‘daily life’ for granted and having to accept a new reality,” with six themes showing different transitions in the parents' daily lives, including transitions in daily life patterns, parenthood, in relationships with family and friends, relationships with school personnel, relationships with healthcare personnel, and in knowledge and learning about the illness. Parents experienced multifaceted changes that affected their lives, as shown by the six identified transitions. Being the parent of a child with T1D implies a new reality with complex, irreversible life changes that may be unknown and unspoken to healthcare professionals and society. Healthcare systems, school personnel, and society at large need to improve their knowledge regarding parents' situations to better support them in embracing a new reality for themselves and their children long after the onset of T1D.

Background

Living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV means living an everyday life, severely restricted by breathlessness.

Aim

The aim of this study was to elucidate meanings of feeling well for women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV.

Method

The study has used a phenomenological hermeneutical design. Individual narrative interviews were conducted with 14 women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at stages III or IV.

Results

The results revealed one theme: striving for moments of easier breathing despite being trapped in breathlessness with four subthemes: acting in rhythm with breathing, taking care of oneself, taking advantage of better moments, and being in togetherness in everyday life.

Conclusion

This study shows that women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at stages III or IV strived for moments of feeling well despite living with a severe illness. Feeling well meant that when connected to nature, they felt alive, free, and less trapped in breathlessness, which provided a sense of being unconscious of their breathing rhythm. They could do what healthy people tend to take for granted during everyday life. To feel well, the women found it important to receive tailored support from their close relatives.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV is a progressive and incurable disease. The hallmark of the disease is breathlessness, and it is graded into four different stages, from mild to severe. Living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease impacts almost every aspect of everyday life for an affected person. As the illness progresses to stages III and IV, the need for support from close relatives increases. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of close relatives of women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV and it used qualitative content analysis of individual, semi-structured interviews. Close relatives (n = 9) were interviewed about their experience of being close to a woman with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV. They experienced stress and uncertainty in an unpredictable everyday life. Close relatives supported the women both practically and emotionally and they called for tailored information about the illness, considering it as an essential tool for support. The results highlighted that healthy close relatives had difficulty in understanding the experience of living with chronic obstructive pulmonary, as they take the simple fact of breathing for granted most of the time.

AIM: To describe the experiences of dignity encounters from the perspective of people with long-term illness and their close relatives within a primary healthcare setting. BACKGROUND: The importance of dignity as a concept in nursing care is well known, and in every healthcare encounter, the patient's dignity has to be protected. METHODS: A purposive sample of 10 people (5 couples) participated in this qualitative descripted study. One person in each of the couples had a long-term illness. Conjoint interviews were conducted and analyzed with an inductive qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in three themes: i) Being supported by an encouraging contact; ii) Being listen to and understood; and iii) Being met with respect. Couples described being encountered with dignity as having accessibility to care in terms of being welcomed with their needs and receiving help. Accessibility promoted beneficial contact with healthcare personnel, who empowered the couples with guidance and support. Couples described a dignity encounter when healthcare personnel confirmed them as valuable and important persons. A dignity encounter was promoted their sense of feeling satisfied with the care they received and promoted safe care. Treated with dignity had a positive impact on the couples' health and well-being and enhanced their sense of a good impression of the healthcare personnel within the primary health care. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare personnel must regard and consider people with long-term illnesses and their close relatives' experiences of dignity encounters to gain an understanding that enables them to support their needs and to know that the care is directed toward them.

Background: Living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV has a major impact on a person's everyday life. This qualitative study focuses on women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe women's experiences of living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV. Method: A purposive sample of fifteen women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV participated in the study. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews that were subjected to qualitative content analysis. Findings: One theme was identified, stabilizing an ever-present breathlessness by restoring strength, and three categories are as follows: managing a restricted everyday life as an expert of their illness, being afraid of contracting infections leading to suffocation and suffering and importance of continuous help and support from significant others and digital media. Breathlessness restricted women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, living with a body they have to wait for. Managing everyday life was adapted to their limited abilities and energy. This required detailed planning, good knowledge of their breathing and body. Women were afraid of contracting life-threatening infections that caused suffering, especially COVID-19. The fear leads to isolation and digital media was described as an important means of communication. Significant others gave support and help that was practical and emotional. Women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease experienced lack of continuous help and support from healthcare professionals. Conclusion: Stabilizing an ever-present breathlessness by restoring strength required women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV to conduct detailed planning to manage everyday life. Being afraid of contracting infections and the consequences of suffocation had increased since the pandemic COVID-19 outbreak, which led to self-isolation and an inactive everyday life. To get help, support and socialize, women used digital media.

When an older person suffers an acute event, such as a hip fracture, it influences the whole family. Research shows that while close relatives want to be a part of the older person’s life during recovery it is associated with a high perceived level of stress and burden. To provide in-depth knowledge of close relatives’ experiences in this situation, the aim of this study was to elucidate meanings of being a close relative to an older person recovering from hip fracture surgery. This study has a qualitative descriptive phenomenological hermeneutical design. Narrative interviews were conducted with ten close relatives. Analysis was conducted using phenomenological hermeneutical interpretation which provided a deeper understanding of the close relatives’ lived experiences of their older person’s recovery from hip fracture surgery. The structural analysis revealed two themes; “Participating in the illness journey”, which was constructed of the subthemes of facing the unimaginable yet expected, encountering healthcare personnel, and noticing recovery and “Putting oneself aside”, which was constructed of the subthemes of placing daily life on hold, giving support, and feeling concern and fear.

Aims: The aim of this hermeneutic study was to explore and elucidate the lived experiences of young people living with type 1 diabetes in terms of their everyday life and school in Sweden. Design: A qualitative interview study with a hermeneutic approach inspired by Gadamer's thinking. Methods: Interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of seven girls and three boys with type 1 diabetes between January and September 2017 and analysed with a hermeneutic method. Results: Young peoples' everyday lives were transformed and re-organized by their illness and they parodically live a double-edged everyday life. To support young people's healthcare personnel, headmasters and teachers must understand this double-edged situation. 

Background A common long-term illness in Sweden is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Women living with the illness have an increasing disease burden. Everyday life is heavily impacted due to the women’s bodily restrictions’ foremost breathlessness, and fear of infections. Fear lead to isolation and thereby a shrinking life. The digital paradigm shift in our society has changed the way we communicate, socialize and work. Aim To describe the experiences of women living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV. Method The study has a qualitative descriptive design. Individual semi-structured interviews were performed with a purposive sample of 15 women diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV. The interview texts were analyzed with qualitative thematic content analysis. This study was approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority. Findings The findings are presented in one theme, stabilizing an ever-present breathlessness by restoring strength, and three categories; managing a restricted everyday life as an expert of their illness, being afraid of contracting infections leading to suffocation and suffering, importance of continuous help and support from significant others and digital media. Women were helped to manage and adapt to their limited abilities and energy by detailed planning, and good knowledge of their breathing and body. Women were afraid of contracting life-threatening infections, especially COVID-19. Fear led to self-isolation, digital media were described as an important means of communication. Women lacked continuity, participation, and support from healthcare professionals. Conclusion Women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV lived an everyday life highly impacted by their illness. The use of digital care could alleviate suffering for women with COPD stage III or IV enabling safe, accessible, and individual support. By gaining understanding of the needs of women with COPD and everyday challenges, health and well-being can be better supported.