Explaining the Concept of Self-esteem in Patients with Chronic Conditions Based on the Family-Centered Empowerment Model: A Directed Content Analysis

Given the prevalence of chronic diseases and their consequences, supporting and empowering patients with such diseases and their families seems necessary. Family-centered support is one of the recent trends to change the role of families in giving care to patients. One aspect of the family-centered empowerment model is self-esteem. The aim of this study was to determine different aspects and characteristics of self-esteem in chronically ill patients.
This qualitative study was conducted in two university hospitals located in Ardabil and Khalkhal, northwest of Iran, from May 2015 to March 2016. Data were collected through holding personal semi-structured interviews with eighteen participants including chronically-ill patients, family caregivers, and nurses. Data analysis was performed concurrently with data collection through the directed qualitative content analysis.
After analysis of the data, 239 codes about self-esteem of patients with chronic diseases that is a dimension of the family-centered empowerment model were extracted. Then, these codes were included in the subcategories of resilience, supportive family, and supportive society.
The findings of this study show the dimensions of self-esteem in patients with chronic conditions that according to these dimensions, with planning and selecting effective ways to promote these dimensions, a key step can be taken to empower the chronically ill patients.