Article

We drew on a qualitative research design to examine patients'
experiences of coping following total hip replacement (THR) by obtaining their
perspectives through participants' personal language. METHOD: Post-operative
patients who were able to explore their experiences and express them verbally
were purposively sampled from an out-patient orthopaedic department of a UK
hospital. Narrative interviews were conducted with the participants at two points
in time. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Coffey and
Atkinson's model (1996). RESULTS: They employed different psychological coping
mechanisms to adjust themselves to the new stressful situations that led to
reinterpretation of the meaning of life. They used problem-focused,
emotion-focused, comparative, spiritual and self-oriented coping strategies and
shifted their focus from disease-related problems to other aspects of their
lives. CONCLUSION: The participants in this study used a range of coping
strategies to accommodate to the challenges of their hip condition and the
consequences of the THR. They placed greater emphasis on positive gains from
their experiences and alleviated the harmful effects of pain and physical
limitations by reinterpreting the meaning of life. It is suggested that the
findings of the study could have clinical implications when applying
patient-reported outcome measures over time.

Langue : ANGLAIS