Anxious Lives: Exploring Lived Experience of Nigerian Sickle Cell Patients

Abstract

This paper discusses the illness narratives of undergraduate students suffering from sickle cell anaemia. The study explores participants' concept of the self in relation to the disease on the one hand, and on the other, the construction of their identity in relation to significant others, friends and the wider community in order to gain a deeper understanding of their symbolic and interactional meanings. Data was generated from six undergraduate students in a private university in south western Nigeria. The qualitative data collection techniques used included in-depth interviews, unobtrusive observation and informal group discussion. The study was conducted over a period of two years and the data were content analysed. The study found that sickle cell patients defined the disease as "natural" due to its hereditary nature. Participants' experiences with the disease in relation to others were described as "frightening", "stressful" and "delimiting" within a broad sociocultural framework that is characterized by empathy and endurance. The findings suggest a more focused awareness campaign that stresses cooperation and understanding of the disease and interactions with sickle cell patients.

Priapism Among Male Adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease

“…Other chronic complications that are associated with SCD in adolescents include slight dilation of the left ventricle, respiratory function difficulties, increased flow velocity of cerebral arteries (due to damaged vessels), cholelithiasis, and recurrent priapism (Silva et al, 2014). Patients with SCD are prone to cold and tend to be susceptible to other health challenges including infection (Asakitikpi, 2015). Adolescents with SCD and priapism also experience psychological complications.…”

“…These patients are particularly prone to anxiety, primarily due to the perception that they are judged negatively in their communities due to what many perceive as an embarrassing condition (Robinson, 1999). According to Asakitikpi (2015), meanings assigned to social behavior mediate people's actions toward an external stimulus. Therefore, the perception of being judged, in this case due to their nonsexual penile erections, usually causes adolescents with priapism to become more reserved and to fail to interact with peers, and even withdraw from social spaces (Asakitikpi, 2015).…”

“…According to Asakitikpi (2015), meanings assigned to social behavior mediate people's actions toward an external stimulus. Therefore, the perception of being judged, in this case due to their nonsexual penile erections, usually causes adolescents with priapism to become more reserved and to fail to interact with peers, and even withdraw from social spaces (Asakitikpi, 2015). The physical complications of penile gangrene and erectile dysfunction are addressed in what follows.…”