Alireza Nikbakht Nasrabadi; Fatemeh Karami; Saeideh Varasteh; Alireza Arman
Volume 23, Issue 7 , 2021
Abstract
Aim: The present study aimed to explore lived experiences of critically ill patients with COVID-19 after discharge from intensive care units of hospitals in Iran.
Materials and Methods: The present study was qualitative research with a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Participants were purposefully ...
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Aim: The present study aimed to explore lived experiences of critically ill patients with COVID-19 after discharge from intensive care units of hospitals in Iran.
Materials and Methods: The present study was qualitative research with a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Participants were purposefully selected from critically ill patients with COVID-19 who were discharged from the intensive care unit (ICU) and transferred to the general ward. Data were mostly collected through in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews and, in some cases, telephone calls. Data were analyzed using the method of Dickelman et al. (1985). Guba and Lincoln's (1989) criteria were used to achieve data authenticity.
Results: Data were obtained from 16 COVID-19 recovered patients with a history of ICU admission. Twelve participants were female and four were male with a mean age of 35 years. The four main themes were identified along with their subthemes: perception of death before dying (worry, helplessness, and expecting a different death), social stigma (social isolation and stigma), a nurse as a symbol of rebirth (a compassionate and supportive nurse and the supportive role of others), and meaningful life (a change in outlook on life and the manifestation of spirituality).
Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that personal thoughts such as thinking about death and social treatments such as stigma can lead to threatening physical and psychological problems in COVID-19 patients. Nurses and family members can prevent many of these problems by providing holistic care and psychological support. Apart from the challenges posed by the disease, post-recovery changes in patients' attitudes toward life can be considered as a positive point.
Fatemeh Karami; Ardashir Afrasiabifar; Shahla Najafi Doulatabad
Volume 20, Issue 12 , 2018, Pages 1-9
Abstract
Background: Fatigue is one of the most common complaints in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The use of non-pharmacological interventions, such as exercise, may be effective in reducing fatigue in these patients.Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of vestibular rehabilitation and ...
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Background: Fatigue is one of the most common complaints in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The use of non-pharmacological interventions, such as exercise, may be effective in reducing fatigue in these patients.Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of vestibular rehabilitation and Frenkel exercise on fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis. Methods: This study was a controlled randomized clinical trial. Seventy-five patients, who had medical records at the society of special diseases of the Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2016, were randomly assigned to three groups, namely, vestibular rehabilitation, Frenkel, and control. The program lasted for 12 weeks (three sessions per week). Fatigue was measured by the Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS) before the intervention, and after that, at six and twelve weeks after the initiation of intervention. Results: The mean score of fatigue in both experimental groups was decreased in a statistically significant manner after the end of the exercises, whereas it was increased in the control group. The reduction in fatigue was statistically significant in the vestibular rehabilitation exercise in comparison with the Frenkel exercise. The total fatigue in the vestibular rehabilitation group at six and twelve weeks after the intervention was -14.1 and -33.1, respectively, in comparison with before the interventions yet in the Frenkel group it was reported as -8 and -17.9, respectively. The comparison of the FIS subscales showed that there was a difference betweenthe vestibular rehabilitation and Frenkel group in both the FIS physical (P = 0.001) and the psychosocial subscales (P = 0.01), yet no difference was observed between the two groups in the FIS cognitive subscale (P = 0.1) at twelve weeks after the intervention. Conclusions: Both vestibular rehabilitation and Frenkel exercise could reduce fatigue in MS patients, however, vestibular rehabili- tation was more effective compared to the Frenkel exercise in reducing fatigue.
