Paramedic Unit, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia.
College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia.
Health Soc Care Community. 2020 Sep;28(5):1734-1742. doi: 10.1111/hsc.12998. Epub 2020 Apr 15.
This study examined the multidimensional nature of experiences of being an intimate partner of an Australian veteran or emergency service first responder (ESFR) with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, inductive thematic analysis was undertaken on data collected in 2017-2018 through individual interviews with a purposive sample of 22 partners of veterans, paramedics, fire and police officers living in Australia. Analysis revealed that the key concern of the participants was to protect their family unit and the intimate relationship, highlighting the ways in which they adapted, managed and coped with the changes that PTSD brought to the relationship. However, lack of understanding by healthcare providers, government, military and emergency service organizations of their daily lives, and of the strength of commitment to their relationship, resulted in a sense of invisibility and was revealed as the key barrier to the support they crave. The findings underscore the importance of recognizing the significance of the intimate relationship in trauma recovery and of responding to the support needs of the intimate partner.
本研究考察了澳大利亚退伍军人或紧急服务第一响应者（ESFR）的创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的亲密伴侣的多维体验。本研究采用定性现象学方法，对 2017 年至 2018 年期间通过对 22 名生活在澳大利亚的退伍军人、护理人员、消防和警察的伴侣进行的个人访谈中收集的数据进行了归纳主题分析。分析结果表明，参与者最关心的是保护他们的家庭单位和亲密关系，强调了他们适应、管理和应对 PTSD 给关系带来的变化的方式。然而，医疗保健提供者、政府、军队和紧急服务组织对他们日常生活的理解不足，以及对他们关系的承诺程度的理解不足，导致他们感到自己被忽视了，这被认为是他们渴望得到支持的主要障碍。研究结果强调了认识亲密关系在创伤恢复中的重要性以及回应亲密伴侣支持需求的重要性。
