The Caring Lived Experience of the Inpatients

Kim, Gui Bun; Suh, Eun Ju

Abstract

This study tried to search the coping method which provides the best quality of life for the inpatients and to inquire into the phenomenon of the caring through the phenomenological caring experience of the inpatients. The subjects of the study were seven patients who admissed in K hospital in Seoul, Korea. The data were collected from October 1996 to September 1997. The researcher as a caregiver made confidence of them and asked for their agreement on the purpose of the study. The subjects expressed their experience as openheartedly as possible. The researcher described closely the caring experiences with there words themeselves and under the observation of the researcher. A tape-recorder was used under the permission of the subjects to prevents the leakage of the spoken information and communication. The analysis of the data was made through the phenomenological analytic method suggested by Giorgi, which is as follows ; as an unit of description which include the subject's expressions and the researcher's observation, it is examined the theme that express the caring experience with the subject's language (underlining), and the focal meanings are identified in the language of the researcher. After intergrating the focal meaning and make situated structural description as the meaning of the caring experience identified on each subject's point. After intergrating the situated structural description and make the general structural description as the meaning of the caring experience identified on total subject's point then the systemizing of the structure of the caring experienced phenomena and flowing of the consciousness was researched. The conclusions of this study was as follows: The sixteen caring experiences which the subjects experienced were sorted as under ;(1) Mind to hesitate to ask questions: Time lack, Knowledge lack, Excessive task, Inhospitality, Negative impression, Compassion, Embarrassed, Horror of the knowing. (2) Mind to put blame upon environmental situations-Noise, Poor of the hospital institution and negligence of management (3) Mind to be frightened-Surgery, Diagnostic test, Changed environment. (4) Mind to be self-abandonment-Fated situation /Mine fault, Indistinct diagnosis. (5) Mind to be sorrowful-Unkind attitude, Lack of understanding of neighboring. (6) Mind to be impetuous-Delay of diagnostic test. (7) Mind to be worry-Domestic management, Economic burden, Anxiety for prognosis. (8) Mind to endure-Pain, Boring of hospital life, Lethargy. (9) Mind to be compliant-Therapeutic process, Hospitalizational process. (10) Mind to support-Concern of familiar members. (11) Mind to wish-Kind attitude, Meticulous explanations, Good prognosis. (12) Mind to gratitude-Good caring, Kind attitude. (13) Mind to wish to knowing-Explanations illness process, Explanations of testing result. (14) Mind to reidentified the self concept-Retrospect of oneself's life, Positive thought, Self-reliance. (15) Mind to be comfortable-Immediate response, Trust for medical teams. (16) Mind to be dependent-Self addiction (Dream). Finally, in the caring structure the sense of certainty don't always coexist with the sense of uncertainty. When the inpatients try to search for the best quality of life, the senses of certainty and uncertainty make a continual cyclic system in the caring structure.