'Struggling to participate in everyday life': emerging adults' experiences of living with long-term health challenges

To gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of participation in the everyday life of emerging adults living with long-term health challenges and how this influences their own quality of life. Using an explorative study design, data were collected through in-depth interviews with a sample of 12...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC public health 2023-07, Vol.23 (1), p.1368-1368, Article 1368
Main Authors: Rasalingam, Anurajee, Brekke, Idunn, Stenberg, Una, Haaland-Øverby, Mette, Helseth, Sølvi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of daily living
Adults
Analysis
Custom design
Disability
Emerging adults
Employment
Health aspects
Higher education
Interviews
Long-term health challenges
Participation
Public health
Quality of life
Recreation
Social aspects
Social participation
Young adults
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:To gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of participation in the everyday life of emerging adults living with long-term health challenges and how this influences their own quality of life. Using an explorative study design, data were collected through in-depth interviews with a sample of 12 young people aged 18-29 years living with long-term health challenges in Norway. The analysis identified one overarching theme of struggling to participate in everyday life, and four subthemes: the notion of being independent but also dependent, experiencing mismatch between needs and support, experiencing deprivation of spontaneity and feeling uncertain about the future. The emerging adults experienced difficulties with participation in key areas of life such as education, employment and leisure activities. Associated symptoms of their diagnosis, limited physical abilities and lack of sufficient support made it hard to participate in everyday life the way they aspired to. The challenges of living with a long-term health challenge as an emerging adult contributed to limitations in participation in different areas of life that was perceived as important for their quality of life.
ISSN:1471-2458
1471-2458
DOI:10.1186/s12889-023-16291-6