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Process Of Maintaining Self In Individuals Living With Systemic Sclerosis: A Grounded Theory Study Of American Women, Donald D. Miller, Jennifer J. Doering
Process Of Maintaining Self In Individuals Living With Systemic Sclerosis: A Grounded Theory Study Of American Women, Donald D. Miller, Jennifer J. Doering
College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications
Background: People with chronic illnesses may struggle to adapt psychologically to the illness experience and have feelings of identity loss, self-diminishment, and biographical disruption. This may limit people’s ability to engage in optimal selfmanagement. Systemic sclerosis is a debilitating, stigmatizing, and life-limiting progressive chronic illness with significant disfiguring effects. Little is known about the identity management process in people with disfiguring and debilitating conditions such as systemic sclerosis.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to generate a grounded theory explicating the process of maintaining a sense of self in people living with systemic sclerosis.
Methods: Fifteen women with systemic …