A desire to be embraced - the lived experience of encountering primary health care for a person with mental health problems. A descriptive phenomenological study
Nilsson, Emmy LU
; Behm, Lina
; Johanson, Suzanne
and Bejerholm, Ulrika
LU
(2025)
In Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care
- Abstract
Background: Primary health care is in the unique position of being a first level of support and care to individuals with mental health problems. The focus in this service is on diagnosis, medical treatment, and symptom reduction. However, to access it is perceived as challenging by both patients and providers. An increased understanding of the lived experience of encountering primary health care may be beneficial for the delivery of a tailored mental health service to patients.
Aim: To explore the lived experience of encounters with primary health care of a person with mental health problems.
Methods: Eleven in-depth interviews were conducted online between October 2022 and April 2023. A descriptive... (More)
Background: Primary health care is in the unique position of being a first level of support and care to individuals with mental health problems. The focus in this service is on diagnosis, medical treatment, and symptom reduction. However, to access it is perceived as challenging by both patients and providers. An increased understanding of the lived experience of encountering primary health care may be beneficial for the delivery of a tailored mental health service to patients.
Aim: To explore the lived experience of encounters with primary health care of a person with mental health problems.
Methods: Eleven in-depth interviews were conducted online between October 2022 and April 2023. A descriptive phenomenology study in accordance with Giorgi was used to analyze the material.
Results: The essence of the lived experience of being a patient with MHP was a desire to be embraced by health professionals, which was the general construction based on four themes, To come from a place of loneliness and vulnerability, To sense mental health was viewed as problematic, To not be in control and To feel safe.
Conclusions: The lived experience of being a patient with mental health problems was described as everyday challenges due to their mental health. They never knew whether the support was there for them as patients when encountering primary health care. Acknowledging patients as experts on their life situation is the core element in person-centered care. It is therefore crucial for further research to include patients' experiential knowledge to inform clinical practice and to improve clinical outcomes.
(Less)- Abstract (Swedish)
- Bakgrund
Primärvården utgör den första linjen av vård och stöd för personer med psykisk ohälsa. Verksamheten är i huvudsak inriktad på diagnostik, medicinsk behandling och symtomlindring. Tillgången till denna vård upplevs emellertid som utmanande både av patienter och vårdgivare. En fördjupad förståelse av den levda erfarenheten av mötet med primärvården kan bidra till utvecklingen av mer individanpassad vård och stöd för personer med psykisk ohälsa
Syfte
Att utforska den levda erfarenheten av möten med primärvården hos en person med psykisk ohälsa.
Metod
Elva djupintervjuer genomfördes online mellan oktober 2022 och april 2023. En beskrivande fenomenologisk studie enligt Giorgi användes för att analysera... (More) - Bakgrund
Primärvården utgör den första linjen av vård och stöd för personer med psykisk ohälsa. Verksamheten är i huvudsak inriktad på diagnostik, medicinsk behandling och symtomlindring. Tillgången till denna vård upplevs emellertid som utmanande både av patienter och vårdgivare. En fördjupad förståelse av den levda erfarenheten av mötet med primärvården kan bidra till utvecklingen av mer individanpassad vård och stöd för personer med psykisk ohälsa
Syfte
Att utforska den levda erfarenheten av möten med primärvården hos en person med psykisk ohälsa.
Metod
Elva djupintervjuer genomfördes online mellan oktober 2022 och april 2023. En beskrivande fenomenologisk studie enligt Giorgi användes för att analysera materialet.
Resultat
Essensen av den levda erfarenheten av att vara patient med psykisk ohälsa var en önskan att bli omfamnad av vårdpersonal. Detta var den övergripande konstruktionen baserad på fyra teman: Att komma från en plats av ensamhet och sårbarhet, att uppleva att psykisk ohälsa betraktades som problematisk, att inte ha kontroll och att känna sig trygg
Slutsats;
Den levda erfarenheten av att vara patient med psykisk ohälsa beskrevs som vardagliga utmaningar kopplade till deras psykiska hälsa. De visste aldrig om stödet fanns där för dem som patienter vid möten med primärvården. Att erkänna patienter som experter på sin livssituation är en kärnkomponent i personcentrerad vård. Det är därför avgörande att framtida forskning inkluderar patienters erfarenhetsbaserade kunskap för att informera klinisk praxis och förbättra vårdresultat. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/32963936-0422-49f1-be57-7e585dc5d3f1
- author
- Nilsson, Emmy
LU
; Behm, Lina
; Johanson, Suzanne
and Bejerholm, Ulrika
LU
- organization
- alternative title
- En önskan att bli omfamnad – den levda erfarenheten av att möta primärvården för en person med psykisk ohälsa. En beskrivande fenomenologisk studie
- publishing date
- 2025-11-04
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- in
- Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care
- publisher
- Informa Healthcare
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:41218930
- ISSN
- 1502-7724
- DOI
- 10.1080/02813432.2025.2587543
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 32963936-0422-49f1-be57-7e585dc5d3f1
- date added to LUP
- 2025-11-12 09:19:49
- date last changed
- 2025-11-13 03:29:22
@article{32963936-0422-49f1-be57-7e585dc5d3f1,
abstract = {{<br/><br/>Background: Primary health care is in the unique position of being a first level of support and care to individuals with mental health problems. The focus in this service is on diagnosis, medical treatment, and symptom reduction. However, to access it is perceived as challenging by both patients and providers. An increased understanding of the lived experience of encountering primary health care may be beneficial for the delivery of a tailored mental health service to patients.<br/><br/>Aim: To explore the lived experience of encounters with primary health care of a person with mental health problems.<br/><br/>Methods: Eleven in-depth interviews were conducted online between October 2022 and April 2023. A descriptive phenomenology study in accordance with Giorgi was used to analyze the material.<br/><br/>Results: The essence of the lived experience of being a patient with MHP was a desire to be embraced by health professionals, which was the general construction based on four themes, To come from a place of loneliness and vulnerability, To sense mental health was viewed as problematic, To not be in control and To feel safe.<br/><br/>Conclusions: The lived experience of being a patient with mental health problems was described as everyday challenges due to their mental health. They never knew whether the support was there for them as patients when encountering primary health care. Acknowledging patients as experts on their life situation is the core element in person-centered care. It is therefore crucial for further research to include patients' experiential knowledge to inform clinical practice and to improve clinical outcomes.<br/>}},
author = {{Nilsson, Emmy and Behm, Lina and Johanson, Suzanne and Bejerholm, Ulrika}},
issn = {{1502-7724}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
publisher = {{Informa Healthcare}},
series = {{Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care}},
title = {{A desire to be embraced - the lived experience of encountering primary health care for a person with mental health problems. A descriptive phenomenological study}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02813432.2025.2587543}},
doi = {{10.1080/02813432.2025.2587543}},
year = {{2025}},
}