Integrating chronic illness into one's life: a phenomenological inquiry

Chronic illness is currently the number one health problem facing the United States. Little is known about the experience of making chronic illness a part of one's life, particularly from the perspective of the chronically ill person. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore how chronically ill adults integrate chronic illness into their lives. Seventeen chronically ill adults were interviewed by the researcher. Using a modification of Colaizzi's (1978) method of data analysis, 4 major themes emerged. These themes were: confronting loss, fluctuating emotions, making changes, and gaining control of an altered life direction. Some of the major recommendations and implications for nursing practice centered around perceiving the entire experience of chronic illness with an emphasis on the need to recognize and assess loss as an ongoing and unending experience, and how this loss influences a participant's willingness and ability to implement changes required by the medical treatment plan.