[The life of adolescent patients with complex congenital heart disease]

In the present study, an analysis of the life of adolescents with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) was done using grounded theory. Consideration was given to the socio-cultural context of Korea.

After approval from the institutional review board of Y hospital, 12 patients ranging in age from 14 to 35 were recruited. Data were gathered using in-depth interviews. Theoretical sampling was performed until the concepts were saturated.

The results confirmed the life of adolescents with complex CHD as a 'journey to finding uniqueness of oneself as a person with CHD'. The life consisted of 3 stages. In the crisis stage, participants had a feeling of threat to self-existence, and made an effort to be the same as others. In the self-recognition stage, participants who had sufficient role-performance built self-esteem while those who did not fell into self-accusation. In the self-establishment stage, participants who reached sufficiency in independence and knowledge planned the future, whereas those who did not conformed to the realities of life.

The results of present study provide help in understanding the experiences of adolescents with CHD and provide a basis for developing nursing intervention strategies for these patients.