Self-Perception of Iranian Patients during their life with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Qualitative Study.
Background
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as a chronic digestive disorder, impacts extensively on the quality of life, emotional well-being and self-identity. Chronic illness disrupts taken-for-granted notions about self. No qualitative study was found regarding patients' experience of life with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in Iran.


Objective
To explore the self-perception of lived experience of IBS patients.


Methods
A qualitative study with hermeneutic phenomenological approach was conducted on 12 IBS patients who had been referred to three central clinics (2 governmental and 1 private) affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews from July 2015 to September 2016 by purposeful sampling. Thematic analysis was carried out using Van Manen's six-step methodological framework as a guide. In addition, MAXQDA software was used for data management.


Results
In this study, two main themes "the threatened self" and "deep self-knowledge", emerged during the life of patients with IBS, indicating the meaning of self-perception of such patients. The theme of "the threatened self" consisted of two subthemes of "fear from stigmatization" and "bad sense of self". The subthemes of "body knowledge", "self-acceptance" and "personal growth" were related to deep self-knowledge.


Conclusion
The results of the present study could be applied in designing and implementation effective and holistic care of IBS patients.
['Mohebbi|Zinat|Z|', 'Sharif|Farkhondeh|F|', 'Peyrovi|Hamid|H|', 'Rakhshan|Mahnaz|M|', 'Naini|Mahvash Alizade|MA|', 'Zarshenas|Ladan|L|']
Self-perception Irritable Bowel Syndrome Hermeneutic Phenomenology Qualitative research