University of Twente Student Theses
Exploring the Complexities of Long Covid: An Analysis of Illness Narratives through Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence Theory
Gosch, Estelle (2023) Exploring the Complexities of Long Covid: An Analysis of Illness Narratives through Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence Theory.
|
PDF
933kB |
| Abstract: | Long Covid is a chronic illness resulting from a Covid infection. Given the significant impact on affected individuals’ lives, understanding their experiences is crucial to offer support. Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence (SOC) theory (1987), compromising Comprehensibility, Manageability, and Meaningfulness, aids with this exploration. However, SOC among long Covid sufferers remained unstudied. Therefore, this study examines how people with long Covid negotiate the three SOC components in illness narratives. Thematic analysis of 34 long Covid narratives revealed 13 themes interpreted in relation to SOC components. The findings include three themes reflecting Comprehensibility by displaying an understanding of long Covid and its’ impact, and experiences of social support. Three themes fall under Manageability by describing maintaining control and normality through seeking professional help and adapting to the new state of health. Meaningfulness was characterized by two themes, expressing recognition of values and a sense of direction for maintaining motivation in recovery. Five themes were interpreted as barriers to SOC components, as participants mentioned experiencing misunderstanding and invalidations, medical and public uncertainty, relinquishing enjoyable activities, and struggles in progress and illness acceptance. These results can enhance understanding of long Covid among individuals and assist healthcare practitioners tailor interventions to their needs. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology MSc (66604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/95672 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page