Living with Stigma: Depressed Elderly Persons’ Experiences of Physical Health Problems

The aim of this paper is to deepen the understanding of depressed elderly persons’ lived experiences of physical health problems. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 depressed elderly persons who suffer from physical health problems. A hermeneutic analysis was performed, yielding o...

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Main Authors: Anne Lise Holm, Anne Lyberg, Elisabeth Severinsson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2014-01-01
Series:Nursing Research and Practice
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/527920
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author Anne Lise Holm
Anne Lyberg
Elisabeth Severinsson
author_facet Anne Lise Holm
Anne Lyberg
Elisabeth Severinsson
author_sort Anne Lise Holm
collection DOAJ
description The aim of this paper is to deepen the understanding of depressed elderly persons’ lived experiences of physical health problems. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 depressed elderly persons who suffer from physical health problems. A hermeneutic analysis was performed, yielding one main theme, living with stigma, and three themes: longing to be taken seriously, being uncertain about whether the pain is physical or mental, and a sense of living in a war zone. The second theme comprised two subthemes, feeling like a stranger and feeling dizzy, while the third had one subtheme: afraid of being helpless and dependent on others. Stigma deprives individuals of their dignity and reinforces destructive patterns of isolation and hopelessness. Nurses should provide information in a sensitive way and try to avoid diagnostic overshadowing. Effective training programmes and procedures need to be developed with more focus on how to handle depressive ill health and physical problems in older people.
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series Nursing Research and Practice
spelling doaj-art-6a95e283a4fb4dcb87fe5eabf5384b3f2025-02-03T05:54:19ZengWileyNursing Research and Practice2090-14292090-14372014-01-01201410.1155/2014/527920527920Living with Stigma: Depressed Elderly Persons’ Experiences of Physical Health ProblemsAnne Lise Holm0Anne Lyberg1Elisabeth Severinsson2Centre for Women’s, Family and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Buskerud and Vestfold University College, P.O. Box 235, 3603 Kongsberg, NorwayCentre for Women’s, Family and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Buskerud and Vestfold University College, P.O. Box 235, 3603 Kongsberg, NorwayCentre for Women’s, Family and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Buskerud and Vestfold University College, P.O. Box 235, 3603 Kongsberg, NorwayThe aim of this paper is to deepen the understanding of depressed elderly persons’ lived experiences of physical health problems. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 depressed elderly persons who suffer from physical health problems. A hermeneutic analysis was performed, yielding one main theme, living with stigma, and three themes: longing to be taken seriously, being uncertain about whether the pain is physical or mental, and a sense of living in a war zone. The second theme comprised two subthemes, feeling like a stranger and feeling dizzy, while the third had one subtheme: afraid of being helpless and dependent on others. Stigma deprives individuals of their dignity and reinforces destructive patterns of isolation and hopelessness. Nurses should provide information in a sensitive way and try to avoid diagnostic overshadowing. Effective training programmes and procedures need to be developed with more focus on how to handle depressive ill health and physical problems in older people.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/527920
spellingShingle Anne Lise Holm
Anne Lyberg
Elisabeth Severinsson
Living with Stigma: Depressed Elderly Persons’ Experiences of Physical Health Problems
Nursing Research and Practice
title Living with Stigma: Depressed Elderly Persons’ Experiences of Physical Health Problems
title_full Living with Stigma: Depressed Elderly Persons’ Experiences of Physical Health Problems
title_fullStr Living with Stigma: Depressed Elderly Persons’ Experiences of Physical Health Problems
title_full_unstemmed Living with Stigma: Depressed Elderly Persons’ Experiences of Physical Health Problems
title_short Living with Stigma: Depressed Elderly Persons’ Experiences of Physical Health Problems
title_sort living with stigma depressed elderly persons experiences of physical health problems
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/527920
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