Aim The aim of the study was to explore how specialist nursing affected the experience of fatigue for people with multiple sclerosis. Methodology This mixed method case study is a single embedded revelatory approach designed to investigate specialist nurse interaction with patients with multiple sclerosis who experience fatigue. The convenience sample of one nurse and two patients constitutes the case. The case is bounded by purposively sampling data which were collected by the use of: interview, observation, reflective diaries. Assessment tools were also used for fatigue, depression, disability and the impact of MS, and actigraphy recording of patient activity. Participants completed key measurements and interview at three monthly intervals during the one year study period. Other data collection was organised to reflect the frequency of nurse patient consultations. The critical social theory of Jurgen Habermas and specifically his theories of moral consciousness and communicative action were used to aid interpretation of data. Conclusions Actigraphy demonstrated that overall level of physical activity for both patients was similar despite differences in fatigue experience. Differences occurred in how patients: (i) Chose to utilise the level of physical activity available to them; (ii) The sense of meaning that they constructed around their experience of fatigue and (iii) The adoption of self management techniques.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:585487 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Warner, Richard |
| Publisher | University of the West of England, Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Page generated in 0.0079 seconds