Browsing by Author "van Niekerk, Nicolaas Jacobus"

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    Exploring fatigue amongst people living with multiple sclerosis in the Western Cape
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) van Niekerk, Nicolaas Jacobus; Coetzee, Bronwyne; Pretorius, Chrisma
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Rationale and Aim Multiple sclerosis fatigue (MS-F) is a distressing and disabling symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS) that is commonly experienced by people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Whilst a substantial body of knowledge exists on MS-F, phenomenological insight into the significance of MS-F within PwMS’s lives is sparce – both globally and nationally. Consequently, the present study sought to explore the lived experiences of MS-F amongst MS-F sufferers in the Western Cape (WC). To this effect, the present study aimed to identify and clarify how PwMS in the WC understood MS-F as a feature of life (FOL). This includes how PwMS in the WC perceived and made sense of: (a) MS-F as a symptomatic experience, (b) MS-F impacts on daily life, (c) MS-F management, and (d) coping with MS-F. Worldview and Theoretical Orientation The present study assumed a constructivist worldview. As such, this study ascribed to a relativist ontology as well as a transactional and subjectivist epistemology. Furthermore, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was adopted as a theoretical orientation to guide the research. Here IPA guided the research through its theoretical foundations of phenomenology, hermeneutics, and ideography. Research Design and Methodology To elucidate lived experiences, an exploratory and cross-sectional research design was employed. Through purposive sampling, 12 MS-F sufferers living in the WC were recruited according to specific inclusion/exclusion criteria. These participants completed a biographical questionnaire, the Patient-determined Disease Steps (PDDS), and the Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFQ) for descriptive purposes. Additionally, they also participated in individual semi-structured telephonic interviews to collect experiential accounts of living with MS-F. These interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Hereafter, I selected the six most data rich and sophisticated accounts for subsequent IPA analyses. Results The present study identified four understandings (i.e. superordinate themes) as characterising participants’ lived experiences of MS-F. Participants understood MS-F as a symptom through its symptomatic features. Here participants perceived MS-F as a lack of energy, an ever-present inconsistency of life, and a subjective mind-body phenomenon. Furthermore, participants understood MS-F as restricting their capacity to participate in the world. This understanding comprised notions of a restricted functional capacity and losses of both independence and spontaneity. MS-F management was understood as the planned accommodation of MS-F through energy maintenance. Here MS-F management was perceived as preparatory in nature whilst energy maintenance signified a route to realising MS-F management. Lastly, participants understood coping with MS-F as the acceptance of the fatigued self and a fatigued life. Here, coping involved an acceptance of MS-F and its restrictions on life as well as an acceptance of MS-F as a FOL. Conclusion MS-F is a meaning-laden phenomenon. It is a symptom with a considerable intrapersonal presence and has substantial implications and consequences for life. Here the present study provides a more person-centred insight into the significance of MS-F within PwMS’s lives. These findings may prove valuable to existing theory as well as to those working with MS-F sufferers.