Vardagslivet och vårdandet för kvinnor och män med alkoholberoende En studie om alkoholberoende kvinnor och mäns levda erfarenhet av att leva med och vårdas för alkoholberoende

Sammanfattning: The number of men and women suffering from alcohol dependency is increasing.Today there are shortcomings in knowledge about the lived experiences of being a woman or a man with alcohol dependency; knowledge which might be of importance for meeting these individual’s specific care needs.The overall aim of the study was to obtain a deeper understanding of women and men's experience of living with alcohol dependency and being professionally cared for. The qualitative investigation design was exploratory and founded in a life world perspective. Data were collected from fourteen women and fifteen men with alcohol dependency by means of open in-depth interviews and subjected to a phenomenological-hermeneutic analysis.It was found that living with alcohol dependency encompasses a complex but limited life situation in which both women and men strive for social acceptance and adjustment. Women turned out to live a more introverted life than men and presented false facades. Men turned out to live a life in action, risk taking and control. Professional caring was shown to mean availability and confirmation of needs. For men with alcohol dependency professional caring meant support and gentle guidance in their active struggle against their alcohol dependency.For women, professional caring meant having an active caregiver who cherished them and enabled them to rest. Professional caring reduced senses of shame in both women and men.It may be concluded that in order to offer care for men and women with alcohol dependency professional carers have to consider gender specific needs of support and guidance. In addition, in order to alleviate suffering, professional caregivers have to be accessible, supportive and directed toward the alcohol dependent women's and men’s everyday world.