Reintegration within families in the context of chronic illness: a family health promoting process

Abstract

eggenberger sk, meiers sj, krumwiede n, bliesmer m & earle p (2011) Journal of Nursing and Healthcare of Chronic Illness3, 283–292 Reintegration within families in the context of chronic illness: a family health promoting process Aim. To describe the processes families use to manage family life in the context of a chronic illness and build theory that clarifies elements of the family processes. Background. Illness has been described as a family affair triggering families to shift their individual and family patterns as they attempt to manage ongoing life with a chronic illness. Family processes are central to the tasks and goals of a family living with a chronic illness. One in two families will experience a chronic illness in the next decade, hence it is important that research focus on understanding family processes that can influence health of the member with an illness and family health. Design. Grounded theory methodology was used for this study. Nine families participated with 46 participant family members interviewed aged between 6–75 years. Families included members with varied chronic illnesses. Semi-structured, audiotaped interviews with group analysis methods focused on family level data. Data were collected in 2005. Results. The central phenomenon was identified as an ongoing process of reintegration within families in the context of chronic illness. Recognising the vulnerability and reality of chronic illness prompts families to initiate reintegration within a context of uncertainty presented by the specific illness and its ongoing management. As a result of the caring strategies chosen by families, a pattern of engagement with the chronic illness was developed that focused on ongoing connecting, pondering, relating and struggling. Conclusions. A model of reintegration provides new understandings of ongoing family processes of a chronic illness. Supporting the evolving family as they engage with the chronic illness through processes of connecting, pondering relating, and struggling promotes family health. Relevance to clinical practice. Findings provide direction for health professionals planning family interventions to support family caring strategies and family processes as families engage with the chronic illness.