Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9737553 | International Journal of Nursing Studies | 2005 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
This interpretive-phenomenological study examined the lived experience of being on the waiting list for arthroplastic surgery of the knee or hip. Interviews reveal that respondents experience suffering in different ways: illness-, caring- and life-suffering. Suffering leads to a struggle in order to have their caring needs met and the struggle is often fruitless-against a faceless enemy-“the system”. No one is there to answer their plea or the frustration they experience. This in combination with their present life situation may lead to a disrupted self-image. Finding or creating meaning in suffering appears to be a crucial issue in the struggling process. Respondents who are able to preserve or create meaning in life are able to reformulate their life-world and live a full life, in spite of severe pain and disability.
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Authors
R.N. Mats Sjöling, R.N. Ylva Ã
gren, Niclas Olofsson, R.N. Ove Hellzén, R.N. Kenneth Asplund,