https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0762-9691
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ABSTRACT
Purpose
We aimed to illuminate the lived experiences and the path of recovery for adults sustaining a hip fracture before the age of 60.
Methods
Participants were purposively sampled from a prospective multicenter cohort study in Sweden and Denmark, and narrative interviews were conducted with 19 individuals 0.7–3.5 years after the fracture. We used a phenomenological hermeneutic method to describe the participants’ expressed essential meaning.
Results
The experience of sustaining a hip fracture was expressed as a painful and protracted process of regaining self-confidence, function, and independence. It also implied a sense of growing old from one day to the next. Participants were afraid of new falls and fractures, resulting in an increased wariness. When expressing fears and persisting symptoms, participants described being neglected and marginalized by the healthcare system, which was perceived as non-receptive and routinely driven by a notion that hip fractures affect only the elderly. Rehabilitation targeted towards needs different from those of elderly individuals was requested.
Conclusion
The lived experience of sustaining a hip fracture in individuals under 60 includes substantial challenges in everyday life, even up to 3.5 years after the injury. Rehabilitation pathways tailored to the needs of younger patients are requested.
Acknowledgments
We thank our local assistants for your help and administrative support, especially project coordinator Marika Bergman in Malmö, and project nurse Annie Gam-Pedersen in Odense. The authors thank the participants of this study; your contribution is appreciated and could be part in the improvement of the care and rehabilitation for the benefit of future individuals suffering hip fractures.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Supplementary material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2023.2191426
Author contributions
All authors were involved in the study design and approved the final manuscript. SSR compared the collection of the two national datasets, curated quantitative data, wrote, and reviewed the manuscript. HKS interviewed participants, performed qualitative analysis, wrote, and reviewed the manuscript. CMJ interviewed participants, performed qualitative analysis, wrote, and reviewed the manuscript. SO initiated the study and critically reviewed the manuscript. CR initiated the study, wrote, and reviewed the manuscript.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Sebastian Strøm Rönnquist
Sebastian Strøm Rönnquist (MD, PhD) is a specialist in orthopedic surgery since 2018, working clinically in pediatric orthopedics. He is interested in fracture research and wrote his doctoral dissertation on hip fractures in younger patients.
Hilda K Svensson
Hilda K. Svensson (RN, PhD) is a public health nurse working as a senior lecturer and oversees orientation for the public health nurse education at the University of Halmstad since 2020. Focus of interest lies within the area of geriatrics and gerontology and wrote her thesis on older women with osteoporosis and vertebral fractures.
Charlotte Myhre Jensen
Charlotte Myhre Jensen (RN, MEd in Health Promotion and Education, PhD) works as Clinical Nurse Researcher within Orthopedics and as ass. Professor at the University of Southern Denmark. Focus is qualitative research within frailty, patient perspectives and user involvement.
Søren Overgaard
Søren Overgaard (MD, PhD). Professor, specialist in Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology.
Cecilia Rogmark
Cecilia Rogmark, (MD, PhD associate professor) is a consultant in orthopedic surgery and a senior researcher within the fields of orthogeratric trauma, hip arthroplasty surgery and quality improvement work.