‘Struggling to participate in everyday life’: emerging adults’ experiences of living with long-term health challenges

BMC Public Health

Research

Sølvi Helseth¹  Idunn Brekke¹  Anurajee Rasalingam¹  Una Stenberg²  Mette Haaland-Øverby³ 

[1] Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway;Frambu Resource Centre for Rare Disorders, Siggerud, Norway;National advisory unit on learning and mastery in health, Oslo university hospital, Oslo, Norway;

关键词: Participation;    Disability;    Emerging adults;    Long-term health challenges;    Quality of life;    Young adults;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-023-16291-6

 received in 2023-02-17, accepted in 2023-07-11,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

AimTo gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of participation in the everyday life of emerging adults living with long-term health challenges and how this influences their own quality of life.MethodsUsing an explorative study design, data were collected through in-depth interviews with a sample of 12 young people aged 18–29 years living with long-term health challenges in Norway.FindingsThe analysis identified one overarching theme of struggling to participate in everyday life, and four subthemes: the notion of being independent but also dependent, experiencing mismatch between needs and support, experiencing deprivation of spontaneity and feeling uncertain about the future. The emerging adults experienced difficulties with participation in key areas of life such as education, employment and leisure activities. Associated symptoms of their diagnosis, limited physical abilities and lack of sufficient support made it hard to participate in everyday life the way they aspired to.ConclusionThe challenges of living with a long-term health challenge as an emerging adult contributed to limitations in participation in different areas of life that was perceived as important for their quality of life.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 2