The Experiences of Obstructive Sleep Apnea among Women

Autor: Chao－Hui Lee, 李兆蕙
Rok vydání: 2009
Druh dokumentu: 學位論文 ; thesis
Popis: 97
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by recurrent episodes of upper airway collapse and obstruction during sleep. These episodes of obstruction are associated with recurrent hypoxia and arousals from sleep. Severe untreated OSA is associated with an increased risk of aggravated cardiovascular dysfunction and even mortality. OSA occurs more commonly in men than in women. However, there were few studies conducting OSA women. The purposes of the current study were to explore the life experiences among women with OSA. Ten OSA women treated by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) were recruited by purposive sampling and snowball sampling. Data were analyzed by constant comparative content analysis. The results were expressed as three stages and related categories: (1) prior to CPAP treatment including ”unsatisfied sleeping: bad spirit & often falls ill and the lazy women”, “the heavy burden in mind, but not being understood” “poor female image harmed by snoring”; (2) during medical seeking including “seeking medical resource by oneself” “being urged by others for medical help” others urging to visit a doctor”, “doctor shopping”, and being shock for the severity of disease; (3) after CPAP treatment including adequate sleep, adapting to CPAP, and secret worry of being OSA women. The results demonstrated that OSA would bring great physic-psycho-social impacts for women. However, the OSA women have little knowledge about their disease, medical resource and self-care. The female patients usually misunderstand that only males snore and females are ashamed of snoring. Inadequate information about using CPAP would result in patients’ discomfort. It is crucial for us to provide and advertise adequate OSA health knowledge for people for the early treatment and self care for this disease.
Databáze: Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations
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