ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study was done to explore the meaning and nature of life world for adolescents with epilepsy. The hermeneutic phenomenological method which was developed by van Manen was used. METHODS: Participants were four boys and five girls, ages 13 to 18 being seen in a neurology outpatient department. Data were collected from iterative work with in-depth interviews from during the period from February to September, 2010. Contents of the interviews were tape-recorded with participant consent. RESULTS: Essential themes that fit into the context of the 4 existential grounds of body, time, space and other people were: an illness that makes a hurt in one's heart rather than one's body, a change in the body that is not controllable, a future like thick fog, everyday life trapped in illness, a change of relationships, learning how to live with an illness. CONCLUSION: Findings reveal the life world of the adolescents is affected to varying degrees by the epilepsy. It is important for nurses to identify and address developmental issues and effects of the illness and to support reorientation in a disintegrated life situation. The result of this study will provide nurses with insights into these experiences and should help promote empathetic care.