THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA PATIENTS AND THEIR DECISION TO UNDERGO GAMMA KNIFE STEREOTACTIC RADIOSURGERY TREATMENT FOR PAIN CONTROL
THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA PATIENTS AND THEIR DECISION TO UNDERGO GAMMA KNIFE STEREOTACTIC RADIOSURGERY TREATMENT FOR PAIN CONTROL
Date
2021
Authors
O'Neil, Maureen Margaret
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Fontenot, Holly
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Nursing
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Abstract
Significance: Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) is described as intermittent excruciating facial pain, causing severe distress to those who experience it. When the pain is uncontrolled, Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery is a treatment option that has significantly increased over the past two decades. This has also increased nurse/patient interactions with trigeminal neuralgia patients. While medical and physics studies are well documented, very little is known about the trigeminal neuralgia patient’s lived experience and coping mechanisms with this type of severe facial pain.
Methods: Using the interpretative phenomenological methodology, this study explored the participants’ lived experiences. The study inquiry, “What was your experience of living with TN, and how did you come to decide on GKSR treatment?” consisted of in-depth interviews using open-ended questions. It explored the participants’ perception of their trigeminal neuralgia diagnosis including coping with this pain, the effect it had on family and work, and their healthcare interactions.
Results: The interview encountered three main themes including how trigeminal neuralgia affected them personally, socially, and their interactions with the healthcare community. The impact of the interviews described their isolation, frustration with attempts to get pain relief, and most significantly, suicidal ideation.
Conclusion: Their shared experiences provided an opportunity to better understand this diagnosis and the difficulties that patients may encounter. It also examined how nursing may contribute to improving patient well-being during the process of receiving Gamma Knife treatment. The potential for further education and research to continue to improve nursing care for the trigeminal neuralgia patient was also explored.
Description
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Nursing,
Gamma Knife,
Lived Experience,
Nursing,
Pain,
Trigeminal Neuralgia
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81 pages
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