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‘Patients' experiences of seeing their obesity in CT images allow for an active self‐care: a qualitative study’
Author(s) -
Bergelin Eva,
Lundgren Solveig M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1111/scs.12029
Subject(s) - qualitative research , obesity , disease , medicine , gerontology , psychology , physical therapy , nursing , family medicine , pathology , sociology , social science
Medical images are primarily used to ensure an accurate diagnosis and make treatment possible. They are more rarely used for explanation or information to or education of patients. This study investigates patients' experiences of being shown and given an explanation of their obesity disease using CT images. Twelve patients participated: >30 BMI kg/m 2 , age between 34 and 65, and mixed sexes, seven women and five men. Patients said that seeing their own images made them more aware of and more involved in their disease, enabling them to carry out more active self‐care. The deeper involvement offered them a new approach to their body and helped them to make decisions on treatment to reduce their weight.