SAUDI ADULTS IN VASO-OCCLUSIVE CRISIS ACCESSING HEALTHCARE FOR PAIN MANAGEMENT: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL INQUIRY

Abstract

Background: Vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) require frequent utilization of healthcare services by adults with sickle cell disease (SCD). This increases the likelihood of poor care and healthcare disparities. The experiences of SCD patients attempting to access pain management have rarely been examined. An evaluation of these experiences may ease the lifelong suffering of Saudi Arabians affected by SCD. Purpose: This study explored the lived experience of Saudi Arabian adults when accessing the healthcare system for pain management in VOC. Philosophical Underpinnings: A qualitative transcendental phenomenological approach guided by the interpretivist–constructivist paradigm to inductively understand the lived experiences of adults during VOC. Methods: Purposeful and snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit 12 participants. The data analysis was guided by Moustakas’s transcendental phenomenology. Results: Four major themes emerged: enduring, suffering while crying out for understanding, the paradox of accessing the healthcare system, and longing beyond suffering. The essence of the experience was extracted from a synthesis of textural and structural descriptions: longing for their suffering to be recognized while asking for compassionate and informed care. The praxis of suffering theory provided further insights to study’s findings. Conclusions: This study revealed the profound suffering of patients with SCD during VOCs. They long for their pain to be understood and for better treatment when accessing healthcare. Compassionate, informed care, with positive interventions, would help patients to cope with their pain and to move on, beyond their suffering toward a more hopeful future. The results suggested that offering compassionate care may contribute to pain relief, warranting further research.