Metaphors enable patients and caregivers to communicate their experiences of living with long-term conditions, research says

It is estimated that 15m people in England—a quarter of the population—live with a long-term condition, and 14.2m people (one in four adults) face the presence of more than two long-term conditions. These can broadly be defined as illnesses that cannot be cured and may require treatment and/or therapies to manage their symptoms and underlying disease processes that are co-occurring or ongoing.

Enabling patients and caregivers to communicate their experience of illness in their own words is vital to delivering person-centred care and developing a shared understanding of the impact of conditions on their lives. Studies of patient-voiced experiences show how metaphors can provide insight into the physical and emotional world of the patient, but such studies are often limited by their focus on a single illness.