Meanings of feeling well for women with multiple sclerosis.
In research concerning multiple sclerosis (MS), the factors that impact on people's well-being and quality of life have been studied, but little has been written about what it means to feel well for women with MS. Therefore, in this study our aim was to describe meanings of feeling well for women with MS. We interviewed 15 women with MS, and a phenomenological hermeneutic interpretation was utilized to analyze the interviews. Through this study it can be understood that finding a pace where daily life goes on means that women with MS feel well when the illness is kept in check and is not the dominant experience. The findings of this study can be used to confirm women's experiences of feeling well, despite living with the consequences of MS. Health care professionals will find the results of this study useful when they reflect on and formulate the care of women with MS when attempting to support the latter's desire to feel well in their daily lives.
Olsson
Malin
M
Division of Nursing, Department of Health Science, Luleå University of Technology, SE-97187 Luleå, Sweden. malin.olsson@ltu.se
Skär
Lisa
L
Söderberg
Siv
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life