Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T13:26:53.006Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Involvement in everyday life for people with a life threatening illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2010

Gerd Andersson Svidén ,
Kerstin Tham  and
Lena Borell
Gerd Andersson Svidén*
Affiliation:
Karolinska Institute, Department of Occupational Therapy, Stockholm, Sweden
Kerstin Tham
Affiliation:
Karolinska Institute, Department of Occupational Therapy, Stockholm, Sweden
Lena Borell
Affiliation:
Karolinska Institute, Department of Occupational Therapy, Stockholm, Sweden Research and Development Department, Stokholms Sjukhem Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Gerd Andersson Svidén, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Occupational Therapy, Karolinska Institute, S-141 83, Huddinge, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

In many studies, everyday life has been shown to be of great significance in the context of life-threatening cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate how people with cancer who are receiving palliative care engage in and undertake activities in their everyday lives.

Method:

This is a qualitative interview study adopting a grounded theory approach. The sample was composed of participants receiving services from palliative hospital-based home care and day care services. A total of 47 individuals were interviewed.

Results:

Despite experiencing the threat of progressive loss of functioning, the participants were striving to remain involved in and to be active in everyday life. Continued involvement in everyday life with lowered expectations concerning performance gave the participants the possibility to continue doing daily activities as well as to perform new and engaging activities that were a source of pleasure and enabled the patients to feel a sense of competence.

Significance of results:

This study has demonstrated the power of being involved in everyday life activities. The proposed model, explaining individuals' desire to continue to live an active life despite a progressive loss of functioning, can provide a model to help the reasoning of professionals when supporting patients in their everyday life.

Keywords

Everyday lifePalliative careDay careCancerGrounded theory
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , September 2010 , pp. 345 - 352
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Argyle, M. (1999). Causes and correlates of happiness. In Well-being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology, Kahneman, E.D.D., Deiner, E. & Schwartz, N. (eds.). New York: Russell Sage.Google Scholar
Atchley, R.C. (1999). Continuity and Adaptation in Aging: Creating Positive Experiences. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Benzein, E., Norberg, A. & Saveman, B. (2001). The meaning of the lived experience of hope in patients with cancer in palliative home care. Palliative Medicine, 15, 117–126.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Christiansen, C. (2000). Identity, personal projects and happiness: Self construction in everyday action. Journal of Occupational Science, 7, 98–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
La Cour, K., Josephsson, S. & Luborsky, M. (2005). Creating connections to life during life-threatening illness: Creative activity experienced by elderly people and occupational therapists. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 12, 98–109.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1991). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Collins.Google Scholar
Folkman, S. (1997). Positive psychological states and coping with severe stress. Social Science and Medicine, 45, 1207–1221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fryback, P.D. (1993). Health for people with a terminal diagnosis. Nursing Science Quarterly, 6, 147–158.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glaser, B.G. (1978). Theoretical Sensitivity. Mill Valley: Sociology Press.Google Scholar
Glaser, B.G. (1998). Doing Grounded Theory: Issues and Discussions. Mill Valley: Sociology Press.Google Scholar
Glaser, B.G. & Strauss, A.L. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. New York: Aldine.Google Scholar
Johansson, C.M., Axelsson, B. & Danielson, E. (2006). Living with incurable cancer at the end of life: Patients' perceptions on quality of life. Cancer Nursing, 29, 391–399.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lazarus, R.S. & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Lindqvist, O., Widmark, A. & Rasmussen, B.H. (2006). Reclaiming wellness: Living with bodily problems, as narrated by men with advanced prostate cancer. Cancer Nursing, 29, 327–337.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lundmark, P. & Branholm, I. (1996). Relationship between occupation and life satisfaction in people with multiple sclerosis. Disability and Rehabilitation, 18, 449–453.Google Scholar
Lyons, K.D. (2006). Occupation as a vehicle to surmount the psychosocial challenges of cancer. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 20, 1–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lyons, M., Orozovic, N., Davis, J., et al. (2002). Doing-being-becoming: Occupational experiences of persons with life-threatening illnesses. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 56, 285–295.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Myers, D. (2000). The funds, friends, and faith of happy people. American Psychologist, 55, 56–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rapkin, B.D. (2000). Personal goals and response shifts: Understanding the impact of illness and events on the quality of life of people living with AIDS. In Adaptation to Changing Health: Response Shift in Quality of Life Research, Schwartz, C.E. & Sprangers, M.A.G. (eds.), pp. 53–71. Washington DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Rapkin, B.D. & Schwartz, C.E. (2004). Toward a theoretical model of quality-of-life appraisal: Implications of findings from studies of response shift. Health & Quality of Life Outcomes http://www.hq10.com/content/2/1/14.Google Scholar
Reynolds, F. (2003). Reclaiming a positive identity in chronic illness through artistic occupation. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 23, 118–127.Google Scholar
Salander, P., Bergenheim, A.T. & Henriksson, R. (2000). How was life after treatment of a malignant brain tumor? Social Science & Medicine, 51, 589–598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schag, C., Heinrich, R. & Ganz, P. (1984). Karnofsky performance status revisited: Reliability, validity, and guidelines. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2, 187–193.Google Scholar
Taylor, S.E. (1983). Adjustment to threatening events: A theory of cognitive adaptation. American Psychologist, 38, 1161–1173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, S.E. & Brown, J.D. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 193–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, S.E., Kemeny, M.E., Reed, G.M., et al. (2000). Psychological resources, positive illusions, and health. American Psychologist, 55, 99–109.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vrkljan, B.H. & Miller-Polgar, J. (2001). Meaning of occupational engagement in life-threatening illness: A qualitative pilot project. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68, 237–246.Google Scholar
Wikstrom, I., Isaacson, A. & Jacobsson, L. (2001). Leisure activities in rheumatoid arthritis: Change after disease onset and associated factors. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64, 87–92.Google Scholar