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Purpose: We aimed to illuminate the lived experiences and the path of recovery for adults sustaining a hip fracture before the age of 60. Methods: Participants were purposively sampled from a prospective multicenter cohort study in Sweden and Denmark, and narrative interviews were conducted with 19 individuals 0.7-3.5 years after the fracture. We used a phenomenological hermeneutic method to describe the participants' expressed essential meaning. Results: The experience of sustaining a hip fracture was expressed as a painful and protracted process of regaining self-confidence, function, and independence. It also implied a sense of growing old from one day to the next. Participants were afraid of new falls and fractures, resulting in an increased wariness. When expressing fears and persisting symptoms, participants described being neglected and marginalized by the healthcare system, which was perceived as non-receptive and routinely driven by a notion that hip fractures affect only the elderly. Rehabilitation targeted towards needs different from those of elderly individuals was requested. Conclusion: The lived experience of sustaining a hip fracture in individuals under 60 includes substantial challenges in everyday life, even up to 3.5 years after the injury. Rehabilitation pathways tailored to the needs of younger patients are requested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explored the experiences of people with stress-related illness participating in a nature-based intervention programme in a northern natural setting. Methods: A longitudinal case study was conducted with two women participating in a nature-based intervention programme on a farm. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews, diaries, rating scales, and self-assessment. Qualitative data were analysed by qualitative content analysis and quantitative data are presented descriptively. Results: The theme of finding a source for recovery and well-being permeates all categories. The participants perceived the farm and nature to be a calming refuge; they learned to be in the present and could manage the tasks. In togetherness with each other and the facilitator on the farm they felt understood and confident, experienced joy, and found opportunities for change. They gained knowledge and positive memories and found new approaches in life. Self-assessment questionnaires indicated improvements of functioning in everyday life and reduced stress-related exhaustion at the end of the NBI programme. Conclusions: Nature-based interventions lasting for a relatively short period seem to promote health and may be a complement to other treatments of stress-related illness. Further research is needed with a larger number of participants and in various natural settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-efficacy plays a role in the process of making lifestyle changes. After bariatric surgery, patients must adapt to several lifelong lifestyle changes. The aim of this study was to explore patients' experiences of recovery after bariatric surgery in those reporting low preoperative self-efficacy. This qualitative inductive interview study included 18 participants. Individual interviews were conducted approximately one year after the surgery. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The analysis identified one theme, and five subthemes describing recovery after bariatric surgery. Participants described being at a crossroads before surgery and having to make a change. After surgery, they had to learn to handle their new situation, which included getting to know their new body, handling thoughts about themselves, and managing social relations. To enhance their situation, support and information were essential. Social relations, support, successes, and challenges influenced their self-efficacy, and thoughts about adopting lifestyle changes, maintaining motivation, and handling setbacks. Recovery one year after bariatric surgery is an ongoing process that involves challenges encountered in lifestyle changes and physical and psychological transformations. Self-efficacy is not static and is influenced during the recovery process. Support and information are essential to enhance patient recovery after bariatric surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with mental ill health attend general emergency care more often than others for physical and psychiatric care needs. Staff in general emergency care report they lack knowledge and strategies to meet with and care for people with mental ill health. This study aimed to describe how people with mental ill health experience encounters with staff in general emergency care. We conducted individual semi‐structured interviews with 11 people with mental ill health about their experiences in general emergency care and subjected the interview data to qualitative content analysis. Our results show the importance to people with mental ill health of being acknowledged as capable persons, and how this relates to their experiences of being recognized, ignored, or dismissed by staff in general emergency care. Even small, ordinary aspects of staff/patient interactions can have major impacts on a person's recovery and well‐being. The study is reported according to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most patients in intensive care units suffer from critical diseases/injuries and are in need of life-saving medical treatment. Recovery after such diseases/injuries may be lengthy and may vary. Little is known about older patients' own assessment of recovery following intensive care. The aim of this study was to explore and describe older patients' experiences of recovery and need of care within 2 months following discharge from hospital after being cared for in an intensive care unit. Fifteen patients 65 years or older, who had received care in an intensive care unit, were telephone-interviewed 2 months following discharge. The interview texts were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Six themes were identified: 'Discharge - a matter of physicians' and nurses' decisions', 'Wanted to go home', 'Feeling well and feeling better, but...', 'Recovered or not, that is the question', 'In need of help from others' and 'In need of care'. Patients trusted in the medical experts' assessment of their condition as regarded hospital discharge, but they also stated that they wanted to go home, as soon as possible, to their own familiar and private environment. Patients did not see the hospital as a place for recovery. Patients claimed that they were used to taking care of themselves within the limits of their strength and energy. If they need help, they first of all turn to family members or relatives. Patients who reported comorbidity did not assess themselves as recovered, while others stated that they had recovered but also suffered from a variety of discomforting symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objective. The aim of this study was to describe and interpret the essential meaning of the lived experiences of being in a critical illness-recovery process after a life-threatening condition. Background. The critical illness-recovery process after a life-threatening condition takes several years and does not only include patients' experiences during intensive care. Previous research has mainly focused on what critically ill patients recall. However, from a phenomenological point of view, experiences are more than memories alone. To plan and perform relevant health care and social support for patients who have survived a life-threatening condition, a more profound understanding about their lived experiences is needed. Design and method. In this qualitative study, a phenomenological hermeneutical approach was used. Interviews were conducted with seven patients, two to four years after they had received care in an intensive care unit in Sweden. Results. The comprehensive understanding of the results shows that the critical illness-recovery process after a life-threatening condition means an existential struggle to reconcile with an unfamiliar body and with ordinary life. This can be understood as an 'unhomelikeness' implying a struggle to create meaning and coherence from scary and fragmented memories. The previous life projects, such as work and social life become unfamiliar when the patient's fragile and weak body is disobedient and brings on altered sensations. Conclusions. Patients who survive a life-threatening condition have an immense need for care and support during the entire critical illness-recovery process, and also after the initial acute phase. They need a coherent understanding of what happened, and support to be able to perform their changed life projects. Relevance to clinical practice. Supporting and caring for patients' recovery from a life- threatening condition involves recognising the patients' struggle and responding to their existential concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The body of knowledge regarding health and recovery as experienced by patients at risk of suicide is limited. More research is needed into the meaning of recovery and what strengthens the desire to live. The aim of this study was to describe the phenomenon of recovery in a context of nursing care as experienced by persons at risk of suicide. In line with a reflective lifeworld research approach, 14 patients from a psychiatric clinic in Sweden participated in phenomenon-oriented interviews. Data were analyzed to describe the essence of the phenomenon. The results reveal that the phenomenon of recovery means 'reconnecting with oneself while struggling between life and death'. Three meaning constituents emerged: being in an expressive space and giving voice to oneself, regaining dignity through nurturing connectedness, and finding a balance in the tension between life and death. In conclusion, the meaning of recovery is to experience the ability to manage one's own life. Professional caregivers need to acknowledge patients' lifeworlds, in a way that enable patients to experience themselves as capable of managing their own lives. Professional caregivers should also facilitate the involvement of supportive relatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]