Open AccessStruggling to be seen and understood as a person – Chronic back pain patients’ experiences of encounters in health care: An interview study
Author(s) -
Allvin Renée,
Fjordkvist Erika,
Blomberg Karin
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
nursing open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.55
H-Index - 12
ISSN - 2054-1058
DOI - 10.1002/nop2.290
Subject(s) - health care , qualitative research , context (archaeology) , chronic pain , content analysis , psychology , medicine , theme (computing) , nursing , physical therapy , sociology , operating system , paleontology , social science , computer science , economics , biology , economic growth
Aim The aim of this study was to describe how patients with chronic back pain experience encounters with health care. Persons with chronic back pain are a stigmatized group often treated based on stereotypes, which may lead to misunderstandings and create frustrated patients and healthcare personnel. Few studies have examined the generic aspects of quality of care in this context. Design A descriptive design with a qualitative approach was used. Methods Nine individual interviews were conducted with chronic back pain patients after admission to an orthopaedic hospital ward. Data were analysed using content analysis. Results The patients’ experiences of healthcare encounters can be described by the theme “Struggling to be seen and understood as a person,” comprising the categories “Lack of access and trust to care,” “A desire to be taken care of and listened to” and “Own strength to handle healthcare situations.”