Putting chronically-ill university students into the research limelight

Abstract

Students with chronic illness experience a life event which has the potential to impact severely on their learning experiences at university. Researchers face the dilemma of prying into students’ experiences even though such a move may be confronting. Successful research in this area requires recognition that it will push particular student characteristics into the limelight and these are characteristics which students have sometimes worked diligently to hide for fear of being stigmatised. Researchers in this field, then, need to gain the trust of chronically ill students and develop a full understanding of students’ experiences, rather than taking a distrusting view and assuming that their claims of illness may potentially be discredited. On the stage of university life, students with chronic illness often need to manage the difficulties of switching roles – from appearing ‘normal’ to needing some assistance. However, limited research has focused on the factors which impinge on the learning environment of chronically ill tertiary students. To open this field to more detailed consideration, this paper will consider some of the difficulties of undertaking research about students who have chronic illness.