N45 The Words of Bowels: Exploring Crohn's Disease through Metaphors
E Sözeri Öztürk, K Kırca, Ş UçanAbstract
Background
Crohn’s disease causes patients to cope with many symptoms and conditions during the course of illness, treatment and therapy. Patients experience psychosocial symptoms as well as physical symptoms. The metaphors with which patients describe their illnesses are important in terms of the disease process and compliance with treatment. This study was conducted to explore the meanings patients attribute to Crohn's disease through metaphors.
Methods
This study employed a phenomenological design and a qualitative research approach. It was conducted with 102 patients who consented to participate in research at the inflammatory bowel diseases clinic of a university hospital from January 15 to March 30, 2024. Data were collected through socio-demographic information, the Harvey-Bradshaw Index, and the completion of the sentence "Crohn's disease is like/because..." Participants produced metaphors that were categorized and presented with supporting examples. Demographic data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, calculated using IBM SPSS Statistics v26.0. Qualitative data were evaluated using content analysis.
Results
Participants with a mean age of 39.68±3.71 years created 80 metaphors about Crohn's disease. These metaphors were analyzed in 8 categories: loss of control, uncertainty, destruction/exhaustion, long process, suffering, transformation/change, care and support needs, and hope. The most frequently used metaphors are nightmare, flower, child, enemy, darkness, and snake.
Conclusion
The most common metaphors used by Crohn's disease patients are nightmare, flower, child, enemy, darkness, and snake. How patients make sense of their illnesses should be evaluated throughout the process by healthcare professionals and the care and treatment process should be planned.