A new way to explore illness experience: the case of an uncertain illness

Abstract

The aim of this presentation is to illustrate a new way to use qualitative methods in order to explore illness experiences, to differentiate among them, and to propose personalized interventions. A study of an uncertain illness, in this case, eye floaters, is presented as an exemplification. Patients suffering from eye floaters perceive flashes and spots in their perceptive field, but they do not necessary have a pathology of the eye. Eye examination and echography, individual semi-structured interviews, and dependency grids were carried out with 11 Italian patients. A grounded theory analysis showed that the illness experience depended on the perception of the disease, the personal explanation, the solutions tried, the trust placed in medicine, self-construction, and the dispersion of dependency. On the basis of these categories, cases that had similar experiences were grouped, and four ways of experiencing illness were identified: possibility, focus on illness, denial and guilt. To each experience corresponded a different health status and a different intervention possibility. Further studies using the same methodology highlighted the usefulness of the presented method in rethinking illness experience.