Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden.
School of Health and Welfare, Department of Health and Nursing, Halmstad University, Halmstad, Sweden.
Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2022 Dec;17(1):2054080. doi: 10.1080/17482631.2022.2054080.
Venous leg ulcer is a recognized condition, affecting people globally. Ulcers mainly affect the elderly and recurrences are not uncommon. There is knowledge about life with venous leg ulcers, but the situation after healing is unexplored. This paper explores and describes meanings of experiences of daily life after healing of a hard-to-heal venous leg ulcer.
Lived experiences of 15 individuals with healed hard-to-heal venous leg ulcers generated data for this study. Interviews were recorded for analysis using a reflective lifeworld research approach. An essence emerged, further described by its constituents.
Memories of a difficult time with leg ulcer were ever present, in a way becoming part of the self. A striving for control in daily life entailed a struggle to do what was best for the own body. After healing, a new normal emerged in daily life, a reality that encompassed the risk for a new ulcer. The body had changed physically, with marks alongside those from ageing, in a life that still went on.
For those who had healed from a venous leg ulcer, life had changed. Even if they referred to life as normal, it was not the same normal as before.
静脉性腿部溃疡是一种公认的病症,影响着全球的人群。溃疡主要影响老年人,且复发并不罕见。人们对腿部溃疡患者的生活状况有所了解,但对溃疡愈合后的情况仍不清楚。本文探讨并描述了愈合后难以愈合的静脉性腿部溃疡患者日常生活体验的意义。
本研究的数据来源于 15 名愈合后难以愈合的静脉性腿部溃疡患者的生活体验。采用反思性生活世界研究方法,对访谈记录进行分析。研究结果提炼出一个主题,再通过主题的构成要素进一步描述。
溃疡愈合后,患者仍会不断回忆起那段艰难的患病时期,溃疡在某种程度上成为了自我的一部分。患者在日常生活中努力寻求控制,试图为自己的身体做最好的事情。愈合后,日常生活中出现了一种新的常态,即身体仍然在继续,但存在再次发生溃疡的风险。身体发生了物理变化,除了与年龄相关的痕迹外,还有溃疡留下的痕迹。
对于那些已经从静脉性腿部溃疡中康复的患者来说,生活已经发生了变化。即使他们认为生活恢复了正常,但这种正常与患病前的正常已经不同。