Stigmatiserad, ensam och utlämnad : Att leva och vårdas med meticillinresistenta Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) - En litteraturstudie

Sammanfattning: Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a multidrug-resistant bacterium that causes serious infections. Specific measures to prevent the spread of MRSA are required within health care, and insufficient knowledge and lack of compliance to these measures have been identified in healthcare professionals. The need to adhere to special guidelines in order to prevent the spread of infection have been shown to create negative feelings for carriers of multidrug-resistant bacterium. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate different aspects of living and being cared for with known carriage of MRSA. The fist aspect aimed to investigate how people experience their knowledge and the information they receive from the healthcare. The second aspect aimed to investigate their feelings and existence in relation to their carriage. The third aspect aimed investigate their experiences and encounters with health care. Method: Literature study with systematic approach and inductive method. The results were analysed with inspiration from thematic synthesis and based on ten qualitative original articles.  Results: Getting MRSA was shocking and shameful, and many blamed the health care for contracting MRSA. Living with MRSA had a negative impact on daily life. Life felt lonely and isolated, and people were scared to infect others. Being cared for with MRSA was described with experiences of lack knowledge from the health care professionals, inconsistencies in adherence to hygiene measures and unprofessional behaviour. Being cared for in isolation had a negative impact on the persons’ independence, their relations with the health care professionals and the quality of care. Conclusion: Getting MRSA is perceived as stigmatising and frightening, and the health care fails to provide adequate information to counteract these feelings. People feel sadness, abandonment and uncertainty about the future. The behaviour of health care professionals and their compliance with hygiene measures is inconsistent. This results in people feeling extradited to health care, which contributes to enhanced feelings of shame and stigmatisation, and people with MRSA do not receive health care on equal terms.