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The Experiences of Living with Excess Weight as an Adolescent: Everyday Life and Healthcare Encounters

Brian, Robin Lynne
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1300370920

Abstract Details

2011, PHD, Kent State University, College of Nursing.
The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of living with obesity as an adolescent. Of special interest was how adolescents living with obesity experience their health care encounters. A Heideggerian interpretive phenomenological method was used, which seeks to understand the hidden meaning of human experiences. The sample included 21 adolescents and young adults, 13 to 23 years of age, who were living with, or had lived with, obesity as adolescents. Participants were recruited from two clinics, the community, and the Northern Ohio National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance Chapter. In-depth individual interviews were conducted and recorded. Participants provided rich descriptions of their day-to-day lives living with obesity and their health care encounters. Diekelman & Allen’s procedures for interpretive analysis were used. Four broad topics were identified: the physical experiences of living with excess weight, the social experiences of living with excess weight, ways of managing excess weight, and health care experiences when living with excess weight. Participants’ experiences are best described as a complex interplay between the physical and social challenges they faced and the skillful coping that they brought to their situations. Several key constructs that captured the participants’ experiences emerged: existence (being), authenticity, embodiment, modes of engagement, the medical gaze, and practical know-how (spielraum). These constructs were interpreted with works of Heidegger, Merlau-Ponty, and Foucault.
Claire Draucker, PhD, RN (Committee Chair)
Donna Martsolf, PhD, RN (Committee Member)
Patrice McCarthy, PhD, RN (Committee Member)
Rhonda Richardson, PhD, CFLE (Committee Member)
Scott Olds, PhD (Other)
299 p.
Nursing
obesity; overweight; adolescent; experiences; qualitative; interpretive phenomenology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Brian, R. L. (2011). The Experiences of Living with Excess Weight as an Adolescent: Everyday Life and Healthcare Encounters [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1300370920

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Brian, Robin. The Experiences of Living with Excess Weight as an Adolescent: Everyday Life and Healthcare Encounters. 2011. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1300370920.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Brian, Robin. "The Experiences of Living with Excess Weight as an Adolescent: Everyday Life and Healthcare Encounters." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1300370920

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1300370920
1,498
© 2011, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.