| There is a paucity of research exploring how individuals with chronic medical conditions experience food choice in their socio-cultural environment, as well as reported difficulties and negative health impacts associated with dietary prescription non compliance. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to explore how renal transplant recipients experience food choice to understand meanings of food and eating; and to make visible the complexity and the inter-related nature of socio-cultural and environmental determinants of food choice. A naturalistic inquiry using direct participant observation and in-depth interviewing were the primary methods of data collection. Constant comparison was used to analyze data thematically. Respondents perceived health promotion/illness prevention and normalcy/quality of life as a dichotomy in the context of food choice. This resulted in a process of selecting food choice strategies that would “keep a balance”. This study makes visible a problematic with respect to respondents' social context, the existing culture of health care, and effectiveness of health interventions. |
