Technological advances for treatment of congenital heart disease (CHD) have led to decreases in mortality over the past thirty years. Persistent morbidity into adolescence and adulthood necessitates regular medical follow-up and the influence of ongoing physical health issues on the teens emotional health merits clinician and researcher attention. Employing interpretive description research methodology, 22 interviews with teens aged 13-17 years were analyzed to understand how adolescents with CHD describe everyday life and relate to questions about quality of life (QOL). Although the majority of these teens viewed themselves as normal, CHD was a part of their everyday life that they situated into the foreground or background of their lives, as it suited their needs. These teens spoke of QOL issues in a concrete manner focusing on physical activity limitations and their need to fit in. Further discussion of these issues must be undertaken as adolescents with CHD transition to adulthood.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:AEU.10048/1896 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Shearer, Kathleen |
| Contributors | Rempel, Gwen (Nursing), Magill-Evans, Joyce (Occupational Therapy), Norris, Colleen (Nursing) |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1724604 bytes, application/pdf |
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