Early recovery experience of patients with injury in Taiwan

Abstract

Purpose: To fill out the gaps in the existing research on the early recovery experiences of patients who have suffered moderate to severe injuries.

Design: Exploratory phenomenology was applied in this study.

Methods: Data were collected at a hospital in Taiwan from a purposive sample of 14 participants who were interviewed before hospital discharge. Semi-structured and audio-taped interviews were conducted. Colaizzi's methods were applied to analyze data. Four criteria were applied to establish the rigors of this study.

Findings: The patients expressed that during the early stages following their injury, several aspects of the traumatic event caused them concern. Six themes were delineated: "experience of acute pain after the injury," "inability to fulfill daily needs," "concerns with impacts caused by the injury," "perceiving that time is needed to recover," "applying multiple methods to restore one's health," and "perceiving fate as the cause of the accident."

Conclusions: The findings identify that injuries bring several problems for patients. Some culture-related issues such as Chinese diets, Chinese medicine, and karmic causation have emerged. Clinicians should better understand patient care needs in the early stages of recovery after an injury.

Clinical relevance: Findings from this study could lead to new interventions, and finally improve care outcomes for patients with injuries.

Keywords: Injury; early recovery experience; phenomenology; trauma care.