Experiences of living with dystonia

Morgan, Andrew and Eccles, Fiona and Greasley, Pete (2021) Experiences of living with dystonia. Disability and Rehabilitation, 43 (7). pp. 944-952. ISSN 0963-8288

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Abstract

Purpose: Dystonia is a chronic and incurable movement disorder. This qualitative study aimed to enhance understanding of the condition by exploring the experience of living with dystonia. Method: Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse data gathered through semi-structured interviews. Eight participants were recruited via a UK based dystonia charity. Results: Three superordinate themes emerged from the data: (1) Dealing with ignorance and uncertainty: navigating health services with a rare, poorly understood condition; (2) The challenge of social isolation: overcoming barriers to positive social identity; and (3) Fear of psychological explanations: the impact of stigmatised attitudes towards psychological explanations for dystonia symptoms. Conclusion: Coping with a rare and chronic condition led to participants feeling isolated and stigmatised by health care services and their communities. Participants were able to overcome this challenge to their identities through the use of social support, particularly from other people with dystonia. Recommendations for reducing the stigmatising experiences of people with dystonia can help to ease the process of adjustment to the illness and enable people to pursue meaningful lives and positive identities. Recommendations for research are aimed at increasing knowledge about these processes.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Disability and Rehabilitation
Additional Information:
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Disability and Rehabilitation on 02/08/2019, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638288.2019.1645217
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2742
Subjects:
?? dystoniaidentityinterpretative phenomenological analysisrare diseasessocial isolationrehabilitation ??
ID Code:
135415
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
16 Jul 2019 09:30
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Jan 2024 00:17