Living Inside the Cage: A Balanced Skeletal Traction Patient's Lived Experiences

Evangelista, Janine Kathleen Ann Orlanes

Tuesday, 1 November 2011: 8:30 AM

Janine Kathleen Ann Orlanes Evangelista
Maria Denise Lao Estocapio
Cherlyn Mabulay Estrella
Monica Marie Gallardo Fabunan
Marvinson See Fajardo
Paul Rey Morales Fajardo
College of Nursing, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to describe the lived experiences of of patients with balanced skeletal traction.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to describe the phenomenon of having a Balanced Skeletal Traction as experienced by Filipino male patients.

Even though Open Reduction Internal Fixation is the primary treatment for complete fractures, Balanced Skeletal Traction is one of the most common treatment methods being done to patients in the Philippines with 2,056 patients admitted in 2009 (POC Summary Report, 2009). However, little is still known and understood about the experiences of these individuals. This study strived to describe the experiences of male Filipinos aged 18-40 years old undergoing Balanced Skeletal Traction.

A descriptive phenomenological research design was employed in this study. Purposive sampling was used. Five participants were selected from a group of potential subjects. A validated semi-structured interview guide was utilised to obtain data from the participants. Each participant was an in-patient at the male traction ward in the Philippine Orthopedic Center during the time of the interview. The lived experiences were gathered by means of interview conducted among them. Interviews were then transcribed, analyzed, and then grouped into clusters, from which six themes emerged. Colaizzi’s method was used in analyzing the collected experiences of the participants.

The six (6) themes that emerged: are (a) The Helpless, Trapped in a Cage; (b) Makes an Effort to be Liberated from the Bars of the Cage; (c) Assistance from the Family Inside and Outside the Cage; (d) Enlightenment of the Caged; (e) Determined on Getting Out of the Cage; and (f) The Cage Being a Boon and a Bane.

”Undergoing Balanced Skeletal Traction is a cage that one must be freed from” is the phenomenon derived from the participants undergoing Balanced Skeletal Traction. The researchers have come up with the acronym C.A.G.E.D. to help readers relate to the phenomenon experienced by our participants. C.A.G.E.D. stands for Cognitive restructuring, Ambivalence towards the experience, Gained insights about Balanced Skeletal Traction, Encompassing pain, and Determination despite difficulty.

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