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Involvement in everyday life for people with a life threatening illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2010

Gerd Andersson Svidén ,
Kerstin Tham  and
Lena Borell
Gerd Andersson Svidén*
Affiliation:
Karolinska Institute, Department of Occupational Therapy, Stockholm, Sweden
Kerstin Tham
Affiliation:
Karolinska Institute, Department of Occupational Therapy, Stockholm, Sweden
Lena Borell
Affiliation:
Karolinska Institute, Department of Occupational Therapy, Stockholm, Sweden Research and Development Department, Stokholms Sjukhem Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Gerd Andersson Svidén, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Occupational Therapy, Karolinska Institute, S-141 83, Huddinge, Sweden. E-mail: gerd.andersson.sviden@ki.se
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Abstract

Objective:

In many studies, everyday life has been shown to be of great significance in the context of life-threatening cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate how people with cancer who are receiving palliative care engage in and undertake activities in their everyday lives.

Method:

This is a qualitative interview study adopting a grounded theory approach. The sample was composed of participants receiving services from palliative hospital-based home care and day care services. A total of 47 individuals were interviewed.

Results:

Despite experiencing the threat of progressive loss of functioning, the participants were striving to remain involved in and to be active in everyday life. Continued involvement in everyday life with lowered expectations concerning performance gave the participants the possibility to continue doing daily activities as well as to perform new and engaging activities that were a source of pleasure and enabled the patients to feel a sense of competence.

Significance of results:

This study has demonstrated the power of being involved in everyday life activities. The proposed model, explaining individuals' desire to continue to live an active life despite a progressive loss of functioning, can provide a model to help the reasoning of professionals when supporting patients in their everyday life.

Keywords

Everyday lifePalliative careDay careCancerGrounded theory
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , September 2010 , pp. 345 - 352
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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