Korean J Adult Nurs. 2015 Dec;27(6):695-706. Korean.
Published online Dec 31, 2015.
© 2015 Korean Society of Adult Nursing
Original Article

Disease Experience of Korean Women with Eating Disorders

Dallong Han
    • Department of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, Cheongju University, Cheongju, Korea.
Received October 28, 2015; Revised December 11, 2015; Accepted December 12, 2015.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

This study was aimed to explore and describe the disease experience of Korean women with eating disorders within psychological and sociocultural context.

Methods

The participants were 12 young adult women suffering with eating disorders or have recovered from the diseases. Data were collected via in-depth interviews and analyzed according to the grounded theory methodology by Strauss and Corbin.

Results

The core category of the disease experience was ‘becoming the master of life through desperate efforts’. The disease experience was categorized into five different phases including ‘falling under the influence of others’, ‘collapsing the self: life swallowed by loosening weight’, ‘facing the wrecked self’, ‘struggling between the self and others’, ‘truly facing the self’. The intervening conditions were various supporting systems such as ‘support from family’, ‘economic support’ and ‘support from trustworthy health professionals’.

Conclusion

The findings of this study indicate that it is necessary to develop nursing interventions to support women with eating disorders and alleviate their suffering from eating disorders. Also specialized educational programs are warranted to prevent the eating disorders, and to reduce social stigma of eating disorders.

Keywords
Eating disorders; Women; Qualitative research

Figures

Figure 1
Process model of disease experience of Korean women with eating disorders.

Tables

Table 1
Paradigm Elements, Categories and Sub-categories of the Disease Experience of Korean Women with Eating Disorders

Notes

This manuscript is a revision of the first author's doctorial dissertation from Seoul National University.

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