Making it Work: Everyday Life and Healthcare with Multiple Chronic Illnesses in Denmark

Area of Science:

• Healthcare studies
• Medical sociology
• Patient-centered care

Background:

• Growing concern regarding the "treatment burden" associated with multimorbidity.
• Need for better understanding of healthcare's impact on patients with multiple conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how individuals with multimorbidity navigate their illness trajectories.
• To investigate the role of "values" in healthcare encounters for patients with multiple conditions.
• To analyze the creation of subject positions within healthcare relationships.

Main Methods:

• Ethnographic fieldwork among individuals with multimorbidity in Denmark.
• Drawing on recent theorization of "values" in healthcare.
• Analysis of "trying out" and "just getting on with it" in illness management.

Main Results:

• Illness trajectories in multimorbidity are characterized by ongoing "trying out" and "just getting on with it."
• Healthcare relations and encounters shape the subject positions available to patients.
• Patient experiences highlight the practical and value-laden aspects of managing multiple conditions.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare practices should acknowledge and support the "trying out" and adaptive strategies of patients with multimorbidity.
• Understanding patient values is essential for effective healthcare encounters.
• Recognizing how healthcare shapes patient subject positions can lead to more patient-centered approaches.