Sailing Stormy Seas: The Illness Experience of Persons with Parkinson's Disease

Authors

Melinda Stanley-Hermanns, The University of TexasFollow
Joan Engebretson, The University of TexasFollow

Abstract

Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive disorder with no known cause or promising cure. While substantial information is known about the pathophysiology, little is known about the illness experience of living with the disease. A qualitative study using an ethnographic approach was conducted to provide a rich understanding of the illness experience. The illness experience was apprehended through field work in two support groups and the personal accounts of 14 participants with Parkinson's disease. The metaphor, "Sailing the Sea in The Eye of the Storm," is the overarching theme and was chosen to conceptualize the voyage of persons living with Parkinson's disease. Two prevailing sub-themes were Daily Negotiations in the Midst of Uncertainty and Reconstruction of the Self.

Keywords

Parkinson's Disease, Self-Management, Chronic Illness, Metaphor, and Ethnography

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Speros Martel Endowment for the Aging and the Iota Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau. A special thanks to the members of my dissertation committee, Drs. Joan C. Engebretson, Nancy H. Busen, Sharon K. Ostwald, and Charles R. Walker.

Publication Date

3-1-2010

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2010.1155

Recommended APA Citation

Stanley-Hermanns, M., & Engebretson, J. (2010). Sailing Stormy Seas: The Illness Experience of Persons with Parkinson's Disease. The Qualitative Report, 15(2), 340-369. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2010.1155