van Manen’s method and its use in the current study_
| Six methodical activities of van Manen | The researchers’ activities in the current study |
|---|---|
| Turning to the nature of lived experience | Thinking and caring for patients with blindness, formulating the phenomenological question: how people with blindness experience healthcare? |
| Investigating experience as we live it | Prolonged engagement with clients with blindness, conducting in-depth interviews |
| Reflecting on essential themes | Listening to the audios, reading the transcripts, immersing in the data, conducting thematic analysis |
| Hermeneutic phenomenological writing | Writing the transcripts, writing about themes, writing to create a phenomenological text |
| Maintaining a strong and oriented relation to the phenomenon | Keeping thoughts and attention on participants’ life stories, discussing the themes in relation to caring science |
| Balancing the research context by considering parts and whole | Moving between transcripts and themes, relating the findings to the literature |
Sociodemographic characteristics of the participants_
| Participant | Age (years) | Sex | Marital status | Living with | Educational degree | Vocational status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 52 | Male | Married | Spouse and children | Bachelor | Retired |
| P2 | 35 | Male | Married | Spouse with blindness | Bachelor | Phone operator |
| P3 | 35 | Male | Unmarried | Parents | Diploma | Part-time job |
| P4 | 56 | Male | Married | Spouse | Diploma | Phone operator |
| P5 | 45 | Female | Married | Spouse with blindness | Diploma | Housekeeper |
| P6 | 38 | Male | Married | Spouse and children | Bachelor | Office employee |
| P7 | 39 | Female | Unmarried | Parents | Illiterate | Unemployed |
| P8 | 35 | Female | Unmarried | Parents | Bachelor | Unemployed |
| P9 | 53 | Female | Married | Spouse and children | Diploma | Retired |
| P10 | 32 | Female | Married | Parents | Guidance school | Unemployed |
| P11 | 43 | Male | Married | Spouse and children | Diploma | Part-time job |
| P12 | 50 | Male | Married | Spouse | Diploma | Retired |
| P13 | 40 | Female | Unmarried | Parents | Bachelor | Knitter |
| P14 | 35 | Male | Married | Spouse with blindness | Master degree | Teacher |
| P15 | 20 | Male | Unmarried | Parents | Bachelor degree student | Student |