Living with a chronic wound: the voices of sufferers.
As the American population continues to age and people live longer, a growing number of individuals have chronic health problems. Of these health problems, chronic wounds are among the costliest. The focus of this research was to understand the meaning of having a nonhealing wound. Heideggerian hermeneutics--one of several approaches to interpretive scholarship--was used in this study. Through interpreting language or texts, Heideggerian hermeneutics seeks to reveal meanings. In this study, the researchers interviewed 10 participants with chronic wounds and performed data analysis of the transcripts using qualitative software, and then Diekelmann's framework of Heideggerian hermeneutical analysis. Two constitutive patterns with six themes emerged from the data--"contending with the wound" and "staying home; staying back." Profound themes of oozing and smelling, losing sleep, being in pain, and noticing are described in the participants own words in the text. By listening to the participants' stories and understanding what it is like to live with a chronic wound, healthcare providers can create caring contexts.
Neil
J A
JA
East Carolina University School of Nursing, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Munjas
B A
BA
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy