Shattered childhood: Experiences of polio survivors in Finland 1950s and 1960s

Abstract

Aim

To describe the childhood experiences of patients with polio from the acute phase of the disease during post-war Finland in the 1950s and 1960s.

Design

Qualitative empirical study based on self-reported history of nursing rooted in the past, a history of experiences.

Methodology

Interview materials were gathered in the form of themes (45) and written interviews (4) (29 September 2018 to 30 June 2019). Data were analysed by reflexive thematic analysis to highlight hidden and latent experiences. This approach generated the study's main theme, themes and subthemes.

Results

The main theme, ‘shattered childhood’, generated from the study results and was then divided into two themes, both of which were influenced in part by the loss of a familiar childhood, the changed environment, the breakdown of the body and the absence of control. Through their childhood memories, polio survivors described their broken childhoods using the following themes: ‘betrayal by their bodies’ and ‘isolation’. In the narratives, the theme ‘betrayal by one's own body’ was generated by the following subthemes: ‘suddenness of the affliction’, ‘paralysis’ and ‘being moved to the hospital’. The ‘isolation’ theme developed from the subthemes ‘isolation from the body and surroundings’ and ‘emotional and social loneliness’.

Conclusion

Polio survivors' experiences during the acute stage of the disease were traumatic and demonstrated children's inferior nursing position in Finland in the 1950s and 1960s.

Impact

The study increases our understanding of the history of caring for children and families who were affected and disabled by polio and the importance of their experiences in society and healthcare settings.

Patient or Public Contribution

The authors collaborated with the Finnish Polio Association to recruit study participants and plan the study. Patients with polio during childhood underwent interviews, and their experiences formulated the data, which were analysed and the basis of the results.

Reporting Method

Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ), a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups, have been used as a reporting and checklist tool. All authors have agreed on the final version and the use of the COREQ criteria, relationship with participants, theoretical framework, setting, data collection and data analysis and report.