Flourishing with chronic illness(es) and everyday stress: Experiences from Soweto, South Africa
The pursuit of flourishing, or living a good life, is a common human endeavor with different meanings across individuals and contexts. What is needed is a further exploration of the relationship between flourishing and health, particularly chronic illness, which affects individuals across the life c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Wellbeing, Space and Society |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666558123000179 |
| _version_ | 1797798587467300864 |
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| author | Megan Schmidt-Sane Lindile Cele Edna N. Bosire Alexander C. Tsai Emily Mendenhall |
| author_facet | Megan Schmidt-Sane Lindile Cele Edna N. Bosire Alexander C. Tsai Emily Mendenhall |
| author_sort | Megan Schmidt-Sane |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The pursuit of flourishing, or living a good life, is a common human endeavor with different meanings across individuals and contexts. What is needed is a further exploration of the relationship between flourishing and health, particularly chronic illness, which affects individuals across the life course and is affected by experiences of stress derived from social and structural vulnerability.Drawing on data from the Soweto Syndemics study, including a locally derived stress scale and in-depth interviews, we explore the connections between flourishing and health for those living with multiple chronic illnesses in Soweto, South Africa within a syndemic of communicable and non-communicable disease. Rather than drawing on Western-centric notions of flourishing (which place emphasis on an individual's capabilities or capacities to thrive), we draw on previous ethnographic work on flourishing in Soweto, South Africa, which described how ukuphumelela, or “becoming victorious,” as a social or communal affair. This conceptualization reflects local values and priorities for people's lives and the ways in which their lives are deeply intertwined with each other.We contribute to a more robust understanding of flourishing in context, of how chronic illness is experienced, and of how the role of a patient is transcended in spaces where individuals are part of a social or faith community. As people living with chronic illness(es) actively pursue the good life, health care systems must consider these pursuits as valid parts of the human experience that also challenge narrow definitions of health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:06:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2c1d693057724c30b237dfe9b14b5722 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-5581 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:06:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wellbeing, Space and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-2c1d693057724c30b237dfe9b14b57222023-06-21T07:00:44ZengElsevierWellbeing, Space and Society2666-55812023-01-014100144Flourishing with chronic illness(es) and everyday stress: Experiences from Soweto, South AfricaMegan Schmidt-Sane0Lindile Cele1Edna N. Bosire2Alexander C. Tsai3Emily Mendenhall4Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK; Corresponding author at: Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Library Road, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RE, United Kingdom.SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaSAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Brain and Mind Institute, Aga Khan University, KenyaCenter for Global Health and Mongan Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MAUSA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USASAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USAThe pursuit of flourishing, or living a good life, is a common human endeavor with different meanings across individuals and contexts. What is needed is a further exploration of the relationship between flourishing and health, particularly chronic illness, which affects individuals across the life course and is affected by experiences of stress derived from social and structural vulnerability.Drawing on data from the Soweto Syndemics study, including a locally derived stress scale and in-depth interviews, we explore the connections between flourishing and health for those living with multiple chronic illnesses in Soweto, South Africa within a syndemic of communicable and non-communicable disease. Rather than drawing on Western-centric notions of flourishing (which place emphasis on an individual's capabilities or capacities to thrive), we draw on previous ethnographic work on flourishing in Soweto, South Africa, which described how ukuphumelela, or “becoming victorious,” as a social or communal affair. This conceptualization reflects local values and priorities for people's lives and the ways in which their lives are deeply intertwined with each other.We contribute to a more robust understanding of flourishing in context, of how chronic illness is experienced, and of how the role of a patient is transcended in spaces where individuals are part of a social or faith community. As people living with chronic illness(es) actively pursue the good life, health care systems must consider these pursuits as valid parts of the human experience that also challenge narrow definitions of health.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666558123000179FlourishingHappinessDepressionChronic illnessStressSouth Africa |
| spellingShingle | Megan Schmidt-Sane Lindile Cele Edna N. Bosire Alexander C. Tsai Emily Mendenhall Flourishing with chronic illness(es) and everyday stress: Experiences from Soweto, South Africa Wellbeing, Space and Society Flourishing Happiness Depression Chronic illness Stress South Africa |
| title | Flourishing with chronic illness(es) and everyday stress: Experiences from Soweto, South Africa |
| title_full | Flourishing with chronic illness(es) and everyday stress: Experiences from Soweto, South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Flourishing with chronic illness(es) and everyday stress: Experiences from Soweto, South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Flourishing with chronic illness(es) and everyday stress: Experiences from Soweto, South Africa |
| title_short | Flourishing with chronic illness(es) and everyday stress: Experiences from Soweto, South Africa |
| title_sort | flourishing with chronic illness es and everyday stress experiences from soweto south africa |
| topic | Flourishing Happiness Depression Chronic illness Stress South Africa |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666558123000179 |
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