An approach to the phenomenology of the disease

Abstract

© 2017, Academia Nacional de Medicina. All rights reserved. Modern medicine has undergone technological progress, undoubtedly with better results, but the doctor-patient relationship has been undermined in its most important aspect, human contact. The patient experiences and confronts in solitude his adverse experience. This experience is complex, not only are the symptoms of the disease, they also include disability, isolation, fear, dependence and sometimes guilt. Phenomenology attaches a paramount importance to the data in the consciousness of the patient, as facts given with absolute value. The purpose of this paper is to deepen the experience of the healthy adult individual who is ill. The better understanding of this phenomenology of the patient by the physician and the health personnel, can favor a better efficiency, empathy and compassion in their care.