A Grounded Theory Study On Posttraumatic Growth Of Patients With Crohn’s Disease

Objective The purpose of this study is to explore the psychological process and interpretive understanding of the posttraumatic growth of patients with Crohn’s disease,so as to provide basis for health care providers to identify and understand the psychological state and degree of the patients’ posttraumatic growth,guide the patients to mobilize their physical and mental recovery potential,and promote the level of patients’ posttraumatic growth.Methods A constructivist grounded theory approach was used.Nineteen patients with Crohn’s disease from several hospitals in Hangzhou,Zhejiang province and the China Crohn’s&Colitis Foundation were recruited through purposive sampling and theoretical sampling.One-to-one in-depth interviews were conducted with these patients and the interviews were taped-recorded.All the recordings were transcribed verbatim.At the same time,it is supplemented by textual data and media reports.Data analysis was based on the initial,focused and theoretical coding strategies of constructivist grounded theory,and methods such as constant comparison and memo writing were adopted to gradually develop categories,sub-categories and finally the core category.Results The core category of this study is "reconstructing self after the illness",including four categories:"suffering from the illness","accepting the fact of being ill","dancing with the illness" and "enriching life beyond illness ".Driven by pain,Crohn’s disease patients rely on their own efforts and external support to reflect,learn,and constantly adjust their inherent cognition,reshape themselves,and achieve growth in the process of accepting the fact of being ill,dancing with the illness and enriching their life beyond illness.The posttraumatic growth of patients with Crohn’s disease is mainly manifested as increasing empathy,increasing personal strength,putting health first,expanding horizons and gaining faith,and the main influencing factors are individual factors,social support,coping styles and self-reflection.Conclusions An interpretive understanding of the experience of posttraumatic growth in patients with Crohn’s disease was constructed.It reveals a growth process centered on "reconstructing self after the illness ".According to the characteristics of patients’ stage of growth,health care providers can carry out targeted psychological intervention to improve the level of Crohn’s disease patients’ post-traumatic growth and improve their quality of life.