The meaning of well-being and participation in the process of health and care—women's experiences following a myocardial infarction

Abstract

In this article, the researchers explore women's experiences of care and health process following a myocardial infarction (MI), with a particular focus on their experiences of well-being and participation. The phenomenon is illuminated from the approach of reflective lifeworld research, and in order to obtain expressions of the women's lived experience phenomenological interviews were conducted. Participation and well-being are described as an experience of being involved in one's own health process. This entails that the women have the potential to influence and take responsibility for their own lives and their own bodies in a meaningful way for them. Participation is a condition for the women to deal with their health and their lives, and seems to improve the women's sense of well-being. At the same time as they sense a dependency on the health care professionals, they seek autonomy and a situation where they can find a new balance, including “the new” body and insecurity that the MI has brought with it. However, the findings also show that the women's participation in the process of care and health, and their well-being, is a challenge for health care professionals. When the professionals are unable to encounter the women's need of participation and desire to be met in their existential insecurity, well-being is affected.