Disease perception and coping in patients with dry eye disease : a qualitative study

Abstract Objective Dry eye disease (DED) is a common chronic eye disease characterized by dry eyes, eye fatigue, and eye discomfort. Few studies have been conducted from the subjective perspective of DED patients to understand how they feel and cope with their symptoms during the disease. This study aims to understand how Chinese DED patients understand and cope with their DED symptoms from the perspectives of disease perception and coping. Methods We chose the phenomenological approach in qualitative research used face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interviews with DED patients, and used the Colaizzi seven-step analysis method to analyze the interview data and refine the themes. Results A total of 19 patients with DED were interviewed and three main themes were identified, which were 1. perceived health threat; 2. emotional experience of illness; 3. coping with illness. Conclusions The results of the study showed that DED patients had certain negative emotions and negative avoidance coping during the process of perceived health threats of DED, suggesting that the medical team should provide a full course of medical support, positive psychological counseling, and guidance to improve disease perception, change disease coping styles, and improve self-management of DED patients.