Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Suffering is a complex, dynamic experience that overarches life experiences and includes physical, social, spiritual, and emotional domains. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to uncover participants' experiences of nonphysical suffering and what was helpful during this time. Eighteen patients who were chronically ill participated in this grounded theory study. Trust was uncovered as a central issue within nonphysical suffering, whereas meaning was the vehicle that enabled the individual to move within the suffering. Participants acknowledged suffering through the identification of various meanings of a situation within their constructed reality and belief system. During individuals' suffering, time was altered and the experience occurred within an expanded present. The individual created an emotional space apart from the meaning of loss within suffering. Trust included the categories of dynamic experience, losing trust, and dealing to regain trust. Participants identified nurse trustworthiness as important for decreasing energy expenditures associated with suffering.

Keywords

suffering trust meaning time experience nurse-patient relationship

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Backman, K. , & Kyngäs, H.A. (1999). Challenges of the grounded theory approach to the novice researcher. Nursing and Health Sciences, 1, 147-153.

Cassell, E.J. (1982). The nature of suffering and the goals of medicine . New England Journal of Medicine, 306, 639-645.

Eifried, S. (2003). Bearing witness to suffering: The lived experience of nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education, 42, 59-67.

Flaming, D. (1995). Patient suffering: Taxonomy from the nurse's perspective . Journal of Advanced Nursing, 22, 1120-1127.

Gilbert, T. (1998). Towards a politics of trust. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 27, 1010-1016.

Govier, T. (1992). Trust, distrust, and feminist theory. Hypatia, 7(1), 16-33.

Hupcey, J.E. , Penrod, J. , Morse, J.M. , & Mitcham, C. (2001). An exploration and advancement of the concept of trust. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 36, 282-293.

Hutchinson, S.A. , & Wilson, H.S. (2001). Grounded theory: The method. In P. L. Munhall (Ed.), Nursing research: A qualitative perspective (pp. 209-243). Boston: Jones and Bartlett.

Johns, J.L. (1996). A concept analysis of trust. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 24, 76-83.

10.

Kahn, D.L. , & Steeves, R.H. (1986). The experience of suffering: Conceptual clarification and theoretical definition. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 11, 623-631.

11.

Kahn, D.L. , & Steeves, R.H. (1995). The significance of suffering in cancer care. Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 11, 9-16.

12.

Kassner, C. (2002). Understanding suffering at the end of life. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver.

13.

Kuuppelomäki, M. , & Lauri, S. (1998). Cancer patients' reported experiences of suffering . Cancer Nursing, 21, 364-369.

14.

Morse, J.M. (2001). Toward a praxis theory of suffering. Advances in Nursing Science, 24, 47-59.

15.

Öhlen, J. , Bengtsson, J. , Skott, C. , & Segesten, K. (2002). Being in a lived retreat—Embodied meaning of alleviated suffering [Electronic version]. Cancer Nursing , 25, 318-325.

16.

Olson, K.L. , Morse, J.M. , Smith, J.E. , Mayan, M.J. , & Hammond, D. (2000-2001). Linking trajectories of illness and dying. Omega, 42, 293-308.

17.

Peter, E. , & Morgan, K.P. (2001). Explorations of a trust approach for nursing ethics . Nursing Inquiry, 8, 3-10.

18.

Raholm, M. , & Lindholm, L. (1999). Being in the world of the suffering patient: A challenge to nursing ethics [Electronic version]. Nursing Ethics, 6, 528-539.

19.

Rodgers, B.L. , & Cowles, K.V. (1997). A conceptual foundation for human suffering in nursing care and research. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25, 1049-1053.

20.

Schreiber R.S. (2001). The “how to” of grounded theory: Avoiding the pitfalls. In R. S. Schreiber & P. N. Stern (Eds.), Using grounded theory in nursing (pp. 55-83). New York: Springer.

21.

Steeves, R.H. , Kahn, D.L. , & Benoliel, J.Q. (1990) Nurses' interpretation of the suffering of their patients. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 12, 715-729.

22.

Streubert Speziale, H.J. , & Carpenter, D.R. (2003). Grounded theory as a method . In H. Streubert Speziale (Ed.), Qualitative research in nursing: Advancing the humanistic imperative (3rd ed., pp. 107-136). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

23.

Thompson, V.L. , Hupcey, J.E. , & Clark, M.B. (2003). The development of trust in parents of hospitalized children. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 8(4), 137-147.

24.

Tarlier, D.S. (2004). Beyond caring: The moral and ethical bases of responsive nurse-patient relationships. Nursing Philosophy , 5, 230-241.

25.

Urquhart, P. (1999). Issues of suffering in palliative care. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 5, 35-39.

A Theory of Nonphysical Suffering and Trust in Hospice Patients

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References