The Life of Adolescent Patients with Complex Congenital Heart Disease

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: In the present study, an analysis of the life of adolescents with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) was done using grounded theory. Consideration was given to the socio-cultural context of Korea. METHODS: After approval from the institutional review board of Y hospital, 12 patients ranging in age from 14 to 35 were recruited. Data were gathered using in-depth interviews. Theoretical sampling was performed until the concepts were saturated. RESULTS: The results confirmed the life of adolescents with complex CHD as a 'journey to finding uniqueness of oneself as a person with CHD'. The life consisted of 3 stages. In the crisis stage, participants had a feeling of threat to self-existence, and made an effort to be the same as others. In the self-recognition stage, participants who had sufficient role-performance built self-esteem while those who did not fell into self-accusation. In the self-establishment stage, participants who reached sufficiency in independence and knowledge planned the future, whereas those who did not conformed to the realities of life. CONCLUSION: The results of present study provide help in understanding the experiences of adolescents with CHD and provide a basis for developing nursing intervention strategies for these patients.