Patients' lived experiences of breathlessness prior to prehospital care – A phenomenological study

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to describe how breathlessness is experienced by patients prior to prehospital care. DESIGN: A qualitative phenomenological design. METHODS: Lifeworld interviews were conducted with 14 participants. The analysis was carried out within the descriptive phenomenological framework. RESULTS: The essential meaning of the breathlessness phenomenon is described as an existential fear in terms of losing control over one’s body and dying, which involves a battle to try to regain control. This is further described by four constituents: being in an unknown body, striving to handle the situation, the ambiguity of having loved ones close and reaching the utmost border. CONCLUSIONS: Patients describe a battling for survival. It is at the extreme limit of endurance that patients finally choose to call the emergency number. It is a challenge for the ambulance clinician (AC) to support these patients in the most optimal fashion.