The purpose of this study was to describe meaning and experiences of older persons living with permanent pacemakers. A qualitative research method of Husserl (Husserlian Phenomenology) was applied as a methodology on this study. The key informants were 8 older persons with permanent pacemakers, who living in Bangkok. Data were collected by in-depth interview. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The Colaizzi’s method was applied for data analysis.
The findings revealed that experiences of older persons living with permanent pacemakers could be divided into two major themes, which were “Meaning of living with permanent pacemakers” and “Experiences of living with permanent pacemakers” Meaning of living with permanent pacemakers comprised with two themes which were: 1) permanent pacemaker as life-saving 2) permanent pacemaker as a foreign body Experiences of living with permanent pacemakers comprised with three themes which were: 1) daily life change 2) mental and emotional change 3) lifestyle limitation
This study provided better understanding meaning and experiences of older persons living with permanent pacemakers in both of positive and negative vision. The positive experiences brought more care from family members the negative experiences caused psychological emotional and social difficulties which needed lifestyle management more concern on vulnerable problems. The dada could be use to guide for nursing practices of older persons with permanent pacemakers and future nursing research.
