I Am As Normal As Everyone Now. . . : Examination of Experiences of Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery According to Roy’s Adaptation Model: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine experiences of patients undergoing bariatric surgery according to Roy’s adaptation model (RAM). This is a qualitative study with a phenomenological design. The sample included patients undergoing bariatric surgery ( N: 32). Of all the patients 84.37% were female and 59.38% were married. According to results of the content analysis, adaptive patient behavior was described by the themes “My life has changed”, Everything is beautiful” “I can cope” and “Luckily, I have them” and their nonadaptive behavior was described by the themes “What if I cannot succeed”, “Bad news” and “So many people, so many views”. Patients having bariatric surgery experience various difficulties in adapting to their life and bodies, but the surgery leads to improvements in their body image, social life, personal relationships, and maintenance of roles. However, some patients can be afraid of postoperative complications and experience anxiety about regaining weight.

Sexuality amongst heterosexual men with morbid obesity in a bariatric surgery programme: A qualitative study

“…Being overweight can unite or separate the couple (Ledyard & Morrison, 2008), but men feel supported in the struggle to preserve their sexuality (Haga et al., 2020). Coinciding with our results, candidates for bariatric surgery report anxiety and avoidance of romantic or sexual relationships (Pratt et al., 2016), expecting improvements in their frequency, and the comfort and satisfaction they provide after surgery (Kabu & Özbayır, 2019; Steffen et al., 2017). Postbariatric surgery experiences range from improvements in sexual functioning (Steffen et al., 2019) to personality changes (Wallwork, Tremblay, Chi, & Sockalingam, 2017).…”

“…Participants told us that MO inhibits their sex life, which worsens with hypogonadism, erection problems, premature ejaculation, advanced age and consumption of antidepressants (Steffen et al., 2017). According to our results, excess skin/fat has negative effects on sexual life (Kabu & Özbayır, 2019; Milhausen, Buchholz, Opperman, & Benson, 2015), and hinders mobility, sexual positions and enjoyment (Wu & Berry, 2018). Some studies show that bariatric surgery can improve erectile function, desire and sexual satisfaction in heterosexual men with MO (Arolfo et al., 2020; Pomares‐Callejón et al, 2018; Xu, Wu, Zhang, & Pei, 2019) although other studies disagree (Carr et al., 2014; Sarwer et al., 2015).…”

“…Individual, social and environmental factors also contribute to MSD, stigma and loss of quality of life in MO patients (Nath, 2019; Sharman et al., 2016). Although MO treatment has focused on diet, physical exercise and drugs (Baillot, Mampuya, Comeau, Méziat‐Burdin, & Langlois, 2013; Srivastava & Apovian, 2018), bariatric surgery has been shown to be a reliable method of loss of weight improving quality of life (Kabu & Özbayır, 2019; Wingfield et al., 2016), body image and sexual functioning (Bates et al., 2019; Quinn‐Nilas, Benson, Milhausen, Buchholz, & Goncalves, 2016). Men with MO, driven by loss of mobility, confidence and self‐esteem, try to be included in a bariatric surgery programme (Wu & Berry, 2018), whose inclusion criteria are as follows: being an adult with a BMI ≥40 kg/m 2 ; or being an adult with a BMI of 35–39.9 kg/m 2 and having associated chronic conditions (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia) (Landecho, Valentí, Moncada, & Frühbeck, 2017; Sabench et al., 2017).…”

Women's interdependence after hysterectomy: a qualitative study based on Roy adaptation model

“…Also, the experience of Turkish pregnant women with nausea and vomiting during pregnancy was assessed using RAM and the participants' experience showed that they were dissatisfied with their relationships with important people in their lives and with supportive resources and disruption of interaction with their social environment [ 25 ]. In another study, the experience of patients who underwent bariatric surgery under the guidance of RAM was examined and the results showed that body image surgery improves social life, personal relationships and performance of participants [ 26 ]. The adaptation experiences of Turkish patients who underwent liver transplant surgery were evaluated according to the RAM.…”

Social Support for People with Morbid Obesity in a Bariatric Surgery Programme: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

“…MO can be prevented with a multidisciplinary approach, including health education, diet, physical exercise and pharmacological treatment [12][13][14]. However, therapies or treatments are not always effective and therefore surgical treatment is required [15]. Bariatric surgery is a reliable method for losing weight in the long term, improving the quality of life, body image and social life of people with MO.…”