Patient Experiences in Managing Chronic Illness After the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake in Türkiye: A Qualitative Study.
Derya Tülüce, Zeliha Turan, Kübra Akcan and 1 others
PMID 40159457WHAT IT FOUND
After the earthquake, twelve patients with chronic illness reported struggling to get food, shelter, health care, medicines, dialysis, and devices.
Some also reported stress, missed medications, poor sleep, and changes in blood sugar and blood pressure.
Key findings
01Participants described barriers to managing chronic illness after the earthquake, including food, shelter, stress, and access to health services, medicines, and medical devices.
02All participants reported physiological changes in their health status after the earthquake.
03Participants described coping through professional support, social support, diverting attention, religious practices, crying, and smoking.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 12 patients were interviewed, and the study was done only in Osmaniye, so it may not reflect patients in other disaster areas or with other chronic illnesses. Participants were recruited from a primary health care institution, so people who could not reach care may be missing. The study used interviews only, and emotionally charged topics may have limited what participants shared. Researchers were nurses and earthquake survivors, which may have shaped what they noticed and how they interpreted the data. The findings describe patient experiences and themes, not tested effects of any nursing or health service intervention.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that a specific disaster care model works. It reports what 12 patients said they experienced, not outcomes from an intervention.