När kroppen sviker : -en livsvärldsstudie om kvinnors erfarenheter av hälsa, sjukdom och vård i samband med en hjärtinfarkt

This thesis for a licentiate degree is a Caring Science lifeworld study the purpose of which is to describe women’s experiences of illness, health and care following a myocardial infarction. It consists of two studies (Papers I and II) which form the first part of a doctoral dissertation. Cardio-vascular disorders are a major public health problem today. Besides the impact these disorders have on public finances, a disease such as myocardial infarction entails suffering for the afflicted person. Current research indicates that women measure their health as lower than men following a myocardial infarction. There is still a lack of knowledge on how to understand women’s health process following a myocardial infarction, and how to provide them with the support needed to promote good health and well-being. Paper I explores women’s experiences of their lifeworld and body following a myocardial infarction. Paper II explores women’s experiences of the care and health process following a myocardial infarction, with a particular focus on their experience of participation. The method of reflective lifeworld research, based on phenomenological epistemology, is used to explore the meaning that is experienced in the lived world of the patient. This research finds that women describe that their lives come to a stand-still following a myocardial infarction. They perceive their bodies as having failed them, which entails existential uncertainty, meaning that the women no longer feel secure about their bodies or life, itself. Their suffering is difficult to understand, both for themselves and for those around them, and the women suffer in silence. Health-care professionals have the potential to promote health by supporting the women towards greater participation and independence in the health process. Participation, however, is not limited to concrete participation in care, but in offering health care based on women’s perspective of how their life situations changed following the illness. This will provide the women with the support they need to discover their own health promoting resources, and to become friends with their bodies and the life that follows a myocardial infarction