“Staying isolated indoors means that nobody sees me”: ontological (in)security and living with significant appearance concerns before, during, and “since” COVID-19

Purpose Though a worldwide period of uncertainty (COVID-19) has “ended”, there exists a legacy of maladaptive experiences among people with significant appearance concerns (SAC) that requires care and attention. Methods Using Giddens’ concept of ontological security, we explored how people experienc...

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Main Authors: Christian Edwards, Berenice Mahoney, Emma V. Richardson, Beck Lowe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2374779
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author Christian Edwards
Berenice Mahoney
Emma V. Richardson
Beck Lowe
author_facet Christian Edwards
Berenice Mahoney
Emma V. Richardson
Beck Lowe
author_sort Christian Edwards
collection DOAJ
description Purpose Though a worldwide period of uncertainty (COVID-19) has “ended”, there exists a legacy of maladaptive experiences among people with significant appearance concerns (SAC) that requires care and attention. Methods Using Giddens’ concept of ontological security, we explored how people experienced their SAC before, during and “since” COVID-19. Qualitative surveys allowed us to capture diverse perspectives from individuals transnationally, analysed with deductive reflexive thematic analysis using ontological security as our theoretical foundation. Results Themes named “More Mirror(ed) Time” and “Locked Out, Shut Down, and Shut Out” gave a contextual grounding for the embodied experiences of this group through times of social restrictions, and the theme “Redefining Relevance” explored the continued legacy of COVID-19 – and continued global uncertainties such as economic hardship and warfare – that impact the wellbeing of people with SAC. Conclusions People with SAC are still “locked out” from essential healthcare support as those providing healthcare are overworked, under-resourced and rely on efficient interactive methods such as tele-health that may be triggers for people with SAC. Care providers may consider expanding appearance concerns verbiage, look to involve trusted others in the care-seeking process, and utilize modalities beyond digital health to support people with SAC.
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series International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being
spelling doaj-art-71c30432b95148c49f26df090f65f0de2024-12-13T15:19:02ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being1748-26231748-26312024-12-0119110.1080/17482631.2024.23747792374779“Staying isolated indoors means that nobody sees me”: ontological (in)security and living with significant appearance concerns before, during, and “since” COVID-19Christian Edwards0Berenice Mahoney1Emma V. Richardson2Beck Lowe3University of WorcesterUniversity of WorcesterUniversity of WorcesterUniversity of WorcesterPurpose Though a worldwide period of uncertainty (COVID-19) has “ended”, there exists a legacy of maladaptive experiences among people with significant appearance concerns (SAC) that requires care and attention. Methods Using Giddens’ concept of ontological security, we explored how people experienced their SAC before, during and “since” COVID-19. Qualitative surveys allowed us to capture diverse perspectives from individuals transnationally, analysed with deductive reflexive thematic analysis using ontological security as our theoretical foundation. Results Themes named “More Mirror(ed) Time” and “Locked Out, Shut Down, and Shut Out” gave a contextual grounding for the embodied experiences of this group through times of social restrictions, and the theme “Redefining Relevance” explored the continued legacy of COVID-19 – and continued global uncertainties such as economic hardship and warfare – that impact the wellbeing of people with SAC. Conclusions People with SAC are still “locked out” from essential healthcare support as those providing healthcare are overworked, under-resourced and rely on efficient interactive methods such as tele-health that may be triggers for people with SAC. Care providers may consider expanding appearance concerns verbiage, look to involve trusted others in the care-seeking process, and utilize modalities beyond digital health to support people with SAC.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2374779covid-19 legacyontological (in)securitysignificant appearance concernsqualitativehealthcare support
spellingShingle Christian Edwards
Berenice Mahoney
Emma V. Richardson
Beck Lowe
“Staying isolated indoors means that nobody sees me”: ontological (in)security and living with significant appearance concerns before, during, and “since” COVID-19
International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being
covid-19 legacy
ontological (in)security
significant appearance concerns
qualitative
healthcare support
title “Staying isolated indoors means that nobody sees me”: ontological (in)security and living with significant appearance concerns before, during, and “since” COVID-19
title_full “Staying isolated indoors means that nobody sees me”: ontological (in)security and living with significant appearance concerns before, during, and “since” COVID-19
title_fullStr “Staying isolated indoors means that nobody sees me”: ontological (in)security and living with significant appearance concerns before, during, and “since” COVID-19
title_full_unstemmed “Staying isolated indoors means that nobody sees me”: ontological (in)security and living with significant appearance concerns before, during, and “since” COVID-19
title_short “Staying isolated indoors means that nobody sees me”: ontological (in)security and living with significant appearance concerns before, during, and “since” COVID-19
title_sort staying isolated indoors means that nobody sees me ontological in security and living with significant appearance concerns before during and since covid 19
topic covid-19 legacy
ontological (in)security
significant appearance concerns
qualitative
healthcare support
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2374779
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