Resiliency, the Lived Experience of Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Abstract

Background: Hematopoetic stem cell transplantation is considered as a standard treatment for cancer patients to stay hopeful toward treatment outcome. However, these patients experience many complications which might affect different aspects of their life. The aim of this study was to investigate the lived experience of patients after hematopoetic stem cell transplantation and introduce supportive care strategies. Materials and Methods: In this study, Van Manen’s Hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used. Eleven patients (7 males and 4 females) were chosen by targeted sampling from visitors of Shariati Hospital’s outpatient clinic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and the final data were analyzed by MAXQDA 10 software. Results: Data analysis revealed that the main theme was resiliency with two sub-themes of “not surrendering to disease” and “feeling closer to God”. Conclusion: Participants declared that transplantation was like a second chance for life and considered this opportunity as a gift from God to overcome their disease. According to our findings, spirituality aids can help patients control the disturbances following HSCT and health professionals can use constructive strategies to support patients with spiritual needs.

Keywords

• Lived experience; Hematopoetic stem cells; resiliency; phenomenology