“Hope is the Indispensable Life Force”: A Qualitative Study of the Meaning of Hope in the Life Experiences of Lymphoma Patients

Year 2024, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 52 - 63, 21.08.2024

Emine Çetiner , Selma Turan Kavradım , Zeynep Özer

https://doi.org/10.59398/ahd.1448419

Abstract

Aim
Although hope is considered to be of vital importance for cancer patients, it remains uncertain in lymphoma patients. This study aimed to examine the life experiences of patients with lymphoma and reveal the meaning of hope.
Method
A hermeneutic-phenomenological design was used in this study. 19 lympho¬ma patients who were receiving chemotherapy participated in interviews. Participants were selected through the purposive sampling method, and the interviews were audio-recorded. A phenomenological-hermeneutic approach was used to analyze the data.
Results
Three themes and 12 sub-themes emerged that summarized the life experiences of patients and the meaning of hope. These themes were as follows: ‘Being in existence’, ‘Hope is the indispensable life force’, and ‘There is always hope, but it varies’. Within the scope of the sub-themes, this study showed that there were changes in the physical and emotional well-being of participants and the importance of discovering the moment. This study, which reveals the meaning of hope as a “desire to return to routine, a bridge from now to the future”, emphasized that both the patients affect hope and the factors related to the disease.
Conclusion
This study revealed the changes in the physical and emotional well-being of lymphoma patients, the meaning of hope in their life experiences, and the factors affecting hope. It is thought that the findings obtained will contribute to the provision of psychosocial support and care planning by healthcare professionals to strengthen hope in lymphoma patients and may guide future studies.

Keywords

chemotherapy, hope, life experience, lymphoma, qualitative research

“Umut Vazgeçilmez Yaşam Gücüdür”: Lenfoma Hastalarının Yaşam Deneyimlerinde Umudun Anlamı Üzerine Nitel Bir Çalışma

Abstract

Amaç
Kanser hastaları için umudun hayati bir öneme sahip olduğu düşünülse de, lenfoma hastalarında umut be¬lirsizliğini korumaktadır. Bu çalışma, lenfoma hasta¬larının yaşam deneyimlerini incelemeyi ve umudun anlamını ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır.
Yöntem
Bu çalışmada hermeneutik-fenomenolojik bir tasarım kullanılmıştır. Kemoterapi alan 19 lenfoma hastası görüşmelere katılmıştır. Katılımcılar amaçlı örnekleme yöntemi ile seçilmiş ve kayıt altına alınmıştır. Verile¬ri analiz etmek için fenomenolojik-hermeneutik yak¬laşım kullanılmıştır.
Bulgular
Hastaların yaşam deneyimlerini ve umudun anlamını özetleyen üç tema ve 12 alt tema ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu temalar: ‘Var olmak’, ‘Umut vazgeçilmez yaşam gücüdür’ ve ‘Umut her zaman vardır fakat değişken¬lik gösterir’. Alt temalar kapsamında bu çalışma, katılımcıların fiziksel ve duygusal iyilik hallerinde değişimler olduğunu ve anı keşfetmenin önemini göstermiştir. Umudun anlamını ‘tekrar rutine dönme isteği, bugünden geleceğe bir köprü’ olarak ortaya koyan bu çalışma, umudun hastalardan ve hastalıkla ilgili faktörlerden etkilendiğini vurgulamıştır.
Sonuç
Bu çalışma lenfoma hastalarının fiziksel ve duygusal iyilik hallerindeki değişimleri, yaşam deneyimlerinde umudun anlamını ve umudu etkileyen faktörleri orta¬ya çıkarmıştır. Elde edilen bulguların, sağlık çalışanları tarafından lenfoma hastalarında umudun güçlendi¬rilmesine yönelik psikososyal destek sağlama ve bakımı planlamaya katkı sağlayacağı, gelecekteki çalışmalara rehberlik edebileceği düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

kemoterapi, umut, yaşam deneyimi, lenfoma, nitel araştırma

Ethical Statement

The research process was carried out in accordance with the international standards and principles accepted by the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was obtained from the Clinical Research Ethics Committee before collecting the research data (22.12.2021, 956). In addition, institutional permission was obtained from the hospital where the participants were receiving treatment. Informed verbal and written consent was obtained from the participants, and the names of the participants were coded in the study.

Supporting Institution

Bulunmamaktadır.

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