Hope and despair: the awakening of hope following acute spinal cord injury-an interpretative study.
The aim of this paper was to explore the patients' experiences of hope during the first months following acute spinal cord injury. This qualitative study has a descriptive and explorative design. Data were collected by personal interviews (N = 10) at a rehabilitation centre in Norway. A phenomenological-hermeneutic approach inspired by Ricoeur was used to extract the meaning content of the patients' experiences. The findings revealed one main interpretation; the awakening of hope, expressed by two themes: hope and despair, and uncertainty. Awakening hopes, even sometimes silent hopes, constituted a contextual background in the immediate aftermath of spinal cord injury.
Institute of Nursing Science, University of Oslo, Norway. Vibeke.Lohne@su.hio.no
Vibeke
V
Lohne
Elisabeth
E
Severinsson
D000208:Acute Disease; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015984:Causality; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009013:Morale; D009341:Negativism; D009664:Norway; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D035501:Uncertainty