Striking a balance—health experiences of male ambulance personnel with musculoskeletal symptoms: A grounded theory

Background Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are a dominant cause to long-term sick leave and early retirement. Some occupational groups are more affected than others and ambulance personnel are among them. Despite a vast amount of research, only a small part focuses the experiences of the affected. Objectives The aim of the study was to explore the experience of illness and wellness in ambulance personnel with musculoskeletal symptoms. Design An emerging design was used in accordance with Grounded Theory. Participants Informants in the study were ten men with musculoskeletal symptoms, working as ambulance personnel at an ambulance station located in a mid-sized city in Sweden. Methods Narrative interviews were performed, parallel to a constant comparative analysis. Results The study resulted in a model, which describes the experience of illness and wellness as characterised by an effort to strike a balance. Wellness through nurturing appeared parallel to encountering illness as an experience and a threat. Accepting and handling illness was of importance to maintaining wellness, and wellness through nurturing was the motivation for accepting and handling illness. Conclusions Enhancing the understanding of wellness and illness makes it possible to avoid undermining the meaningfulness that support accepting and handling illness, and by understanding different aspects of illness prevention can become facilitated. This is of importance as other aspects than solely physical have shown to be similarly important in the development of MSD.