Geographies of wellbeing and chronic illness: A Canadian case study

Geography has had a long legacy of research investigating the lived experiences of individuals with chronic illness, particularly women. Health geographers have also begun to focus beyond health to wellbeing, defined as that space between expectation and reality. Individuals living with chronic illness often experience complex impacts to their lifestyle, relationships, aspirations, and employment that affect this space, expressed as emotional, mental, and psychosocial health and wellbeing impacts. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune condition disproportionately affecting women. Lupus nephritis (LN) is a manifestation of SLE that affects the kidneys, developing in up to 60% of those with SLE. Impacts extend beyond the physiological, as LN affects capacity to conceive and carry a child. Individuals aged ≥18 years with LN were recruited from a Canadian lupus cohort to participate in semi‐structured in‐depth interviews (n = 30). At the individual level, participants reported emotional impacts experienced at LN diagnosis (e.g., uncertainty, fear, surprise, relief) and in daily life (e.g., fear of future, stigmatization). At the meso level, participants shared how relationships (e.g., feeling supported, treated differently), leisure activities (e.g., modifying activities), paid employment and education (e.g., altered career paths), and family planning (e.g., conception challenges) impacted wellbeing. Results increase our understanding of how living with chronic illness impacts wellbeing and can inform policy and practice change.