The experience of a sample of individuals in the United Kingdom living in the pre-manifest stage of Huntington’s disease : an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Wieringa, Gina and Dale, Maria and Eccles, Fiona (2022) The experience of a sample of individuals in the United Kingdom living in the pre-manifest stage of Huntington’s disease : an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 31 (2). pp. 375-387. ISSN 1059-7700

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Abstract

This paper explores the experience of ten individuals living in the UK who were in the pre-manifest stage of Huntington's disease (HD), a genetic neurodegenerative condition. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three themes were reported from the data: ‘feeling limited by time’, ‘the perception of stalling time’, and ‘making the most of time’, all highlighting the way in which time holds significant meaning when living in the pre-manifest stage of HD. This study has highlighted the difficulties experienced by individuals when adjusting to the pre-manifest stage of HD. Feeling able to manage their anxieties and dealing with ongoing uncertainty related to future deterioration was key to supporting their wellbeing, facilitated by factors such as positivity and hope. Individuals may benefit from counseling which supports them to develop proactive coping strategies to manage their anxieties and acceptance of an uncertain future.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Journal of Genetic Counseling
Additional Information:
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Wieringa, G., Dale, M., & Eccles, F. J. R. (2021). The experience of a sample of individuals in the United Kingdom living in the pre-manifest stage of Huntington’s disease: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 31, 375– 387. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.1497 which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jgc4.1497 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2716
Subjects:
?? chronic illnessdecision-makinghuntington's diseaselived experiencepredictive genetic testinggenetics(clinical) ??
ID Code:
158017
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
05 Aug 2021 13:45
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Jan 2024 00:19