The family experience of "sudden health": the case of intractable epilepsy.
This article reports the experience of "sudden health" among six families who participated in an exploratory qualitative study of families with a member who elects to have corrective surgery for intractable epilepsy. Families were interviewed pre- and post-surgery (6-8 months) and the interviews were analyzed using a constant comparative methodology. Findings indicated that (1) families were organized in two primary ways (nesting and crisis) to deal with epilepsy and the aftermath of surgery and (2) "sudden health" had differing effects on these families depending on their organizational style, emotional communication process, and developmental dynamics.
University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry, USA.
David B
DB
Seaburn
Giuseppe
G
Erba
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life; D016896:Treatment Outcome