What are the experiences of adults returning to work following recovery from Guillain-Barré syndrome? An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Patients' experiences and perceptions of Guillain-Barré syndrome: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative research

Background

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy, with an incidence of 1-2/100,000 per year. Its severity is variable, ranging from very mild cases with brief weakness to severe paralysis, leading to inability to breathe independently, or even death. Currently there is limited evidence exploring the experiences of GBS patients. The aim of this study was to review patients’ experiences and perceptions of GBS and its variants at diagnosis, discharge and during recovery, by conducting a systematic review and thematic meta-synthesis of qualitative studies of patients’ experiences of GBS (and its variants).

Methods

We searched twelve electronic databases, supplemented with internet searches and forward and backward citation tracking from the included studies and review articles. Data were synthesised thematically following the Thomas and Harden approach. The CASP Qualitative Checklist was used to assess the quality of the included studies of this review.

Results

Our search strategy identified a total of 5,282 citations and after removing duplicates and excluding citations based on title and abstract, and full-text screening, five studies were included in the review and meta-synthesis; all included studies were considered of acceptable quality. Through constant discussions and an iterative approach, we developed six analytical themes following a patient’s journey from suspecting that they had a health problem, through to being hospitalised, experiencing ongoing difficulties, slowly recovering from GBS, adjusting to their new circumstances, and re-evaluating their lives.

Conclusions

Despite the variety of experiences, it was evident from all included studies that being diagnosed with and surviving GBS was a life-changing experience for all participants.

Trial registration

Protocol was registered (CRD42019122199) on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO).

Well-Being at Work after Return to Work (RTW): A Systematic Review

Background: Employees’ well-being at work after the return to work (RTW) is considered a key aspect of rehabilitation and maintenance of workability. This systematic review aimed at identifying the common psychosocial factors that predict the subjective and psychological well-being in RTW processes after having a long-standing health problem or disability. Objective: To evaluate the subjective and psychological well-being at work of employees with chronic or long-standing health problems or those returning to work after any cause of disability. Data source: Systematic review of articles published in English or Spanish using PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Psychology, and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and Pubpsych. An additional study was identified by contacting expert academics in the field. The search equations used included terms such as Return to Work, Long-Standing Health Problems or Disability, Work Health Balance, and job satisfaction or subjective well-being. Eligibility criteria for the studies: Studies that included a measure of employees’ well-being at work following return to work were selected for the review. Evaluation of the studies and synthesis methods: The studies were selected using predefined fields which included quality criteria. Results: Of the 264 articles returned by the initial search, a total of 20 were finally selected. Results were organized around the three different theoretical approaches for understanding RTW and its antecedents and consequences: (a) RTW and autonomy at work have a positive effect on psychological well-being; (b) job demand is linked to less job satisfaction, whereas a higher level on the work–health balance is associated with job satisfaction and work engagement; (c) internal and external support is linked to job satisfaction in the case of a disease. Limitations: The evidence provided by the results is restricted by the limited availability of studies focusing on well-being at work following return to work. Moreover, the studies identified are of different kinds, thereby preventing comparisons. Conclusions and implications of the main findings: Employees’ subjective well-being after return to work has received very little attention to date. Given its importance in the current configuration of the labor market, it should be the object of more research.

Exploring the experiences of having Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A qualitative interview study

Background

Guillain‐Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare inflammatory disorder affecting the peripheral nerves. Although typically there is full neurological recovery, some people continue to experience residual physical, psychological or social problems longer term. Evidence describing the experiences of people with GBS is limited.

Objective

We aimed to explore the experiences of people with GBS in the UK.

Design

We used qualitative (face‐to‐face and telephone) interviews to explore experiences of people with GBS. Audio‐recorded data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using the Framework Method supported by NVivo 11.

Setting and Participants

We purposively recruited a sample of 16 volunteers with a prior diagnosis of GBS of varying age, sex, ethnicity, location, marital status, time since diagnosis and length of hospital stay to maximize differences in experience. Interviewees were required to have been discharged from hospital, able to give informed consent, able to speak and understand English and currently resident in the United Kingdom.

Results

The key themes arising from the analysis were as follows: the importance of early diagnosis; the experiences of inpatient care; the importance of active support for recovery; the need for communication throughout the course of the illness; the need for greater awareness, knowledge and provision of information by health‐care staff; and path to achieving function.

Conclusion

This is the first qualitative study exploring experiences of people with GBS in the UK through their whole illness journey from onset to recovery. The findings contribute to our understanding of the experiences and support needs of people recovering from GBS.

Observer blind randomised controlled trial of a tailored home exercise programme versus usual care in people with stable inflammatory immune mediated neuropathy

Background

Inflammatory neuropathies such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy and paraproteinaemic demyelinating neuropathy are a heterogenous group of peripheral nerve disorders that affect around one to two people per 100,000. Whilst treatments such as intravenous immunoglobulin, plasma exchange and corticosteroids have generally positive results, long-term residual symptoms and associated activity limitations are common.

There is currently no standardised care for patients with ongoing activity limitation and participation restriction as a result of inflammatory neuropathy IN but data from observational studies and a randomised controlled trial suggest that exercise either alone or as part of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme may be beneficial in improving activity limitation. Tailoring the intervention for participants following physiotherapy assessment and incorporating patient preference for type and location of exercise may be important.

Methods/Design

The current study is a pragmatic, prospective, parallel observer-blind, randomised controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a twelve week tailored home exercise programme versus advice and usual care. Seventy adults with stable immune mediated inflammatory neuropathy IN will be recruited to the study from two main sources: patients attending selected specialist peripheral nerve clinics in the South East and West Midlands of England and people with who access the GAIN charity website or newsletter. Participants will be randomised to receive either advice about exercise and usual care or a 12 week tailored home exercise programme.

The primary outcome of activity limitation and secondary outcomes of fatigue, quality of life, self-efficacy, illness beliefs, mood and physical activity will be assessed via self-report questionnaire at baseline, 12 weeks and 12 months post intervention. Cost effectiveness and cost utility will be assessed via interview at baseline and 12 months post intervention.

Intention to treat analysis will be our primary model for efficacy analysis. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a selected sample of participants in order to explore the acceptability of the intervention and factors affecting adherence to the exercise programme.

Discussion

This is the first randomised controlled trial to compare the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of tailored home exercise with advice about exercise and usual care for adults with inflammatory neuropathy.

Trial registration

Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN13311697

Balancing everyday life two years after falling ill with Guillain-Barré syndrome: a qualitative study

Purpose:

The aim was to describe experiences of disability in everyday life and managing the recovery process two years after falling ill with Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Design:

Qualitative interview study.

Methods:

Interviews were conducted with 35 persons (22 male, mean age 50 years) two years after the onset of Guillain-Barré syndrome. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using content analysis.

Results:

The analysis revealed four categories and an overall theme: ‘Striving for balance in everyday life’. The participants described persistent lived body restrictions that affected their arms, legs, and face. Bodily symptoms and loss of energy limited or restricted many everyday activities. In connection with healthcare, both satisfaction and feeling vulnerable in a critical situation were described. Experiences of the recovery process varied. The participants described acceptance and reappraisal of a new life situation despite their limitations, and having gained the knowledge that life can change suddenly. However, they also expressed disappointment following an overly positive prognosis in the early stages, and over a continuous wait for recovery. For some participants life had returned to as before.

Conclusion:

The participants experienced limitations in everyday life and decreased functioning in several parts of the body. The recovery process may still be ongoing two years after onset. Rehabilitation intervention with an extended focus on supporting individualized coping processes could facilitate ways to live with persistent disability.

What work means to people with work disability: a scoping review

PURPOSE

As paid work is the occupation that people spend the most amount of their time doing, it is an important provider of personal meaning in their lives. This meaning has been shown to vary from person to person and to be important to health and well being. When a person is unable to work due to a disabling condition, it is unclear whether this meaning remains or is replaced by other meanings. The purpose of this scoping review was to explore what was known in the existing literature on what work means to those with work disability.

METHODS

The review involved identifying and selecting relevant studies, charting the data and collating and summarizing the results.

RESULTS

Fifty-two studies explored the meaning of work for those with cancer, mental illness, musculoskeletal disorders, brain injuries, paraplegia, and AIDS. The studies revealed that, for most, work continued to be meaningful and important. Common themes across all types of disability included work being a source of identity, feelings of normality, financial support, and socialization. These meanings were found to be both motivating for return to work and health promoting. Conversely, a small number of studies found that the meanings and values ascribed to work changed following disability. New meanings, found either at home or in modified work, replaced the old and contributed to new identities.

CONCLUSIONS

The exploration of the meaning of work has been shown to provide important understanding of the experience of work and disability. This understanding can guide rehabilitation professionals in their interventions with the work disabled.

Exploring employment in consultation reports of patients with neuromuscular diseases

OBJECTIVES

To explore consultation reports for patient and employment characteristics and recommendations on employment regarding patients with neuromuscular diseases (NMDs).

DESIGN

Retrospective study of multidisciplinary reports.

SETTING

An outpatient neuromuscular clinic at a university hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

Reports (N=102) of patients with NMDs.

INTERVENTIONS

Based on one-off consultations by occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists and a multidisciplinary meeting, recommendations were developed regarding therapy content and volume in primary care or rehabilitation settings.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

A checklist has been developed to examine employment characteristics. A general questionnaire has been used including demographic variables and data on employment.

RESULTS

Of the 102 reports available, 86 were included for analysis. Sixty-nine reports contained information on employment. Thirty-seven patients (43%) with NMD were employed, most in white-collar or moderately strenuous jobs. Of the 37 employed patients, 28 (76%) worked using adaptations. Thirty-two (87%) had employment problems; of these, 15 (40%) needed improvement in 1 or more environmental factors. Twenty patients (54%) needed advice regarding participation in employment, of whom 19 were referred to primary care or rehabilitation settings for treatment to enhance employment participation.

CONCLUSIONS

Eighty percent of the included consultation reports contained information on employment. Less than half the patients with NMD were employed, most in office-related jobs, using some kind of adaptations. Nineteen of 20 patients who agreed to recommendations regarding therapy were adequately referred by occupational therapists and physical therapists for treatment of employment problems.

Using interpretative phenomenological analysis to inform physiotherapy practice: an introduction with reference to the lived experience of cerebellar ataxia

Qualitative research methods that focus on the lived experience of people with health conditions are relatively underutilised in physiotherapy research. This article aims to introduce interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), a research methodology oriented toward exploring and understanding the experience of a particular phenomenon (e.g., living with spinal cord injury or chronic pain, or being the carer of someone with a particular health condition). Researchers using IPA try to find out how people make sense of their experiences and the meanings they attach to them. The findings from IPA research are highly nuanced and offer a fine grained understanding that can be used to contextualise existing quantitative research, to inform understanding of novel or underresearched topics or, in their own right, to provoke a reappraisal of what is considered known about a specified phenomenon. We advocate IPA as a useful and accessible approach to qualitative research that can be used in the clinical setting to inform physiotherapy practice and the development of services from the perspective of individuals with particular health conditions.