Tímarit hjúkrunarfræðinga - 2024, Side 106

104 Tímarit hjúkrunarfræðinga | 1. tbl. 100. árg. 2024
It's normal to talk about Obesity, but it matters how it's done The experience of Individuals with Obesity regarding their use of the Health care system
ENGLISH SUMMARY
It's normal to talk about Obesity,
but it matters how it's done
The experience of Individuals with Obesity regarding
their use of the Health care system
Gudjonsdottir, U. and Sigurdardottir, A. K.
ABSRTAKT
Aim
The prevalence of obesity has greatly increased in recent years. In
2022, around 27% of Icelanders had obesity. Studies indicate that
individuals with obesity don't always receive adequate health care.
There is limited knowledge on personal experiences of Icelandic
individuals with obesity with the health care system. The study
aimed to increase knowledge and deepen understanding of their
experiences.
Method
Qualitative method where four focus-group-interviews were
conducted with 18 individuals with obesity, 14 women and four
men, between 26-69 years of age. The interviews were analyzed
using qualitative inductive content analysis.
Results
The overarching theme, It's normal to talk about obesity, but it
matters how it's done, is descriptive of participants´experiences
and what kind of health care they want to receive. All participants
had, over a long period, both positive and negative experiences
of health care. There were three themes with four sub-themes.
A): Treat individuals with dignity and respect, with the sub-themes
Active listening and Behavior toward the client, described how
important those aspects in health professionals’ behaviour are
for the experience of participants with obesity. B): Health care that
treats everyone equally where access to health care, treatment
of obesity, how knowledgeable health professionals are, and the
equipment were discussed. Finally, C): Facing your own strengths
and limitations with two sub-themes, Sensitivity and disrespect
and Work with weight management, described the impact of the
participants on their own treatment. Participants with obesity
were vulnerable in their communication with health professionals,
but they also needed to be willing to contribute to their own weight
management and treatment.
Conclusions
It is important that nurses and other healthcare professionals
provide same care for all, regardless of weight. The crucial point is
to listen to individuals with obesity which should enable provision
of appropriate health care.
Keywords
Obesity, qualitative research, patient experience, health care system,
health care workers' attitudes.
Correspondent
ha190454@unak.is