The lived experience of moving forward for clients with spinal cord injury: a Parse research method study

Most people with spinal cord injuries take a long time to recover and return to their previous life activities. Moving forward is connected with the choices people make about what is important, what to do, and how to live life in ways they value. Parse's Theory of Humanbecoming is a human science theory, and its overall aims are to improve the quality of life for clients and their families.

The Parse research method was used to explore the lived experience of moving forward for 15 clients with spinal cord injuries recruited from two Spinal Injury Associations in Taiwan in 2007. Data were collected and analysed through the processes of participant selection, dialogical engagement, extraction-synthesis and heuristic interpretation, as proposed by Parse.

The core concepts found were confronting difficulties, going on and finding self-value and confidence, and co-creating successes amid opportunities and restrictions. Thus, the structure of the lived experience of moving forward is confronting difficulties, going on and finding self-value and confidence to affirm one's self while co-creating successes amid opportunities and restrictions.

This study contributes to nursing theory-guided knowledge development from a humanbecoming perspective on the experience of moving forward among clients with spinal cord injury, and informs rehabilitation nurses who use the Humanbecoming theory as a guide to practice to promote moving forward.