Realizing autonomy: the phenomenology of independence and interdependence while living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

A comprehensive qualitative framework for health-related quality of life in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

PURPOSE

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a rare x-linked neuromuscular condition predominantly affecting boys and men. There is a paucity of research qualitatively detailing the lived experience of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for people with DMD. The aim of this study was to identify a comprehensive framework for better understanding HRQoL in DMD.

METHODS

Eighteen boys and men (aged 7 to ≥ 40 years) with DMD were recruited from charity Duchenne UK, a DMD support group, and 5 UK National Health Service Trusts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a topic guide informed by a review into HRQoL in DMD. Generic, preference-based, patient-reported outcome measures (PROs) were used as prompts. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using framework analysis.

RESULTS

Thirty-seven themes were coded, within seven categories. Six categories were conceptualised as components of HRQoL (autonomy, daily activities, feelings and emotions, identity, physical aspects, social relationships) and one considered an input (healthcare, support, and environment). Three additional themes were used to code feedback on the generic PROs (CHU-9D, EQ-5D, HUI). Social relationships received most coverage in the data and was noted as an omission from the PROs.

CONCLUSION

A 30-item framework for HRQoL in DMD has been developed, which was used as input into a new condition-specific HRQoL PRO and preference-based measure: the DMD-QoL. The data has value in its own right in highlighting the lived experience of HRQoL for people with DMD and as a barometer for assessing the content of HRQoL PROs for use in DMD.

The Lived Experience of Interdependence: Support Worker Relationships and Implications for Wider Rehabilitation

Engaging in a meaningful life where one can exercise autonomy has been proposed as a key aim of rehabilitation. Influenced by a neoliberal worldview, this has traditionally been characterised by a pursuit towards individual functional independence in which one completes tasks and activities unassisted. However for many persons, individual functional independence may not be a realistic, prioritised or beneficial goal. Many individuals must learn to work with support workers to exercise choice and control. Such relationships extend beyond a transactional nature and involve many subtle characteristics. In this article, I draw on my lived experience of partnering with support workers to illustrate the complexity of such relationships and how they can enable interdependence to serve as a vehicle to self-determination. I finish with some ideas about what rehabilitation can do to recognise the important role human connections play in facilitating interdependence. Understanding the nature of these relationships is necessary to provide services which value interdependence, supporting people to pursue a meaningful life following impairment.

Patients' autonomy as a negotiated order: an ethnographic perspective on the clinical management of childhood obesity

The principle of patients' autonomy has assumed a central place in healthcare. Patients are encouraged to play an active role in the management of their health, especially when they are affected by chronic illnesses that require long-term follow-up. In this article, we analyse patients' and professionals' conceptions of patients' autonomy in the context of childhood obesity management. Based on the results of an ethnographic study that we conducted within a paediatric hospital in French-speaking Switzerland, we put into perspective the discourses that professionals, parents and children construct around their experiences of the therapy. Our study reveals that the conceptions that these three different actors have of patients' autonomy converge on several points, but they also diverge on many others. While the rise of autonomy in healthcare has mostly been analysed as a form of empowerment of patients, our results show that this principle also introduces new forms of social control over patients' lives, and it creates new tensions for patients who are unable to match with the normative expectations of professionals in terms of self-management and self-care.