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Palliative Medicine, Vol. 18, No. 7, 611-618 (2004)
DOI: 10.1191/0269216304pm922oa
© 2004 SAGE Publications

Meanings of being old and living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Linnéa Carling Elofsson

Department for Geriatrics and Rehabilitation, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mö lndal and Institute of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Caring Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, Gothenburg

Joakim Öhlén

Institute of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Caring Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, Gothenburg and Department of Nursing, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm

The aim of this study was to achieve a deeper understanding of the meaning of the lived experiences of elderly persons who are severely ill with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and in need of everyday care. Narratives from dialogues with six persons were interpreted using phenomenological–hermeneutic methodology. The structural analyses showed severe problems in daily life due to old age with a decaying body and dialectic experiences of resignation–contentedness, loneliness–connectedness, and being homeless–being at home. The interpreted whole reveals that life, suffering and comfort must be understood as an interlaced experience where ageing is just as important as the experience of illness. These elderly people's concerns and problems due to old age, a decaying body and being severely ill with COPD call for palliative and comfort care and thus challenge all professionals involved in their care.

Key Words: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease • comfort • palliative care • phenomenological-hermeneutic • suffering


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