Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
BMJ Open Respir Res. 2019 Feb 12;6(1):e000382. doi: 10.1136/bmjresp-2018-000382. eCollection 2019.
People with severe asthma experience unpredictable daily symptoms requiring an intense treatment regimen impacting on health-related quality of life (QoL). Sexuality contributes to this, yet there is a dearth of research exploring intimacy in people with severe asthma. We aimed to explore the patient's perception of the impact of severe asthma on intimacy, establish their information needs and their perceived role of the healthcare practitioner.
We have performed a qualitative study guided by Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. We interviewed patients diagnosed with severe asthma recruited from a dedicated clinic using purposive sampling. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Using thematic analysis, the data were analysed for emergent themes.
The nine interviews provided unique and detailed insights into their perspectives on how living with severe asthma impinges on sexual intimacy. Four superordinate themes emerged: (1) 'Physical intimacy': including disclosure of physical limitations of severe asthma on intimacy; (2) 'Emotional intimacy': the cyclical impact of the often-negative emotional struggle of living with severe asthma on relationships; (3) 'The role of the healthcare professional': a perceived failure of healthcare professionals (HCPs) to tackle sexual intimacy in consultations and (4) 'Image of self': the reported struggle to deal with negative body image and confusion regarding changing relationship roles.
This study is the first to explore the impact of severe asthma on intimacy. We suggest an emphasis on education to raise awareness and help HCPs to address this sensitive topic in this cohort and adopt positive strategies to help improve QoL.
严重哮喘患者每天的症状都难以预测，需要强化治疗方案，这会影响他们的生活质量（QoL）。性健康是其中之一，但目前针对严重哮喘患者的亲密关系的研究却很少。我们旨在探索患者对严重哮喘对亲密关系的影响的看法，确定他们的信息需求以及他们对医疗保健从业者的感知角色。
我们进行了一项定性研究，由解释性现象学分析指导。我们使用目的抽样从专门的诊所招募了被诊断为严重哮喘的患者进行访谈。访谈进行了录音，并逐字转录。使用主题分析对数据进行了分析，以确定出现的主题。
九次访谈提供了独特而详细的见解，了解他们对严重哮喘如何影响性亲密关系的看法。出现了四个超主题：（1）“身体亲密”：包括披露严重哮喘对亲密关系的身体限制；（2）“情感亲密”：生活在严重哮喘中经常经历的负面情感斗争对人际关系的周期性影响；（3）“医疗保健专业人员的角色”：医疗保健专业人员（HCPs）未能在咨询中解决性亲密问题的感知失败；（4）“自我形象”：报告的与负面身体形象和关于改变关系角色的困惑作斗争。
这是第一项探索严重哮喘对亲密关系影响的研究。我们建议强调教育，以提高认识并帮助 HCP 在这一人群中解决这个敏感话题，并采用积极的策略来提高生活质量。
