Introduction: To be diagnosed with a chronic disease affects the patients as well as their partners' lives in different aspects. Partners of people with chronic diseases have previously reported emotional distress, fear for the future, depression, anxiety and feelings of powerlessness [1]. Screening programs for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), mainly for men, have been introduced in several countries to reduce the mortality rate [2, 3]. Although the awareness of having an AAA influences the individuals' quality of life (QOL) and well-being it is still unclear how it affects the partners' lives [4-7]. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe partners' experiences of living together with a man diagnosed with an AAA through screening and attending regular follow-ups.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive approach was used to describe the partners' experiences of living with a man diagnosed with an AAA £55. Twenty-one individual semi-structured interviews were conducted between August 2017 to February 2018.The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis inspired by Miles and Huberman. Chunks were selected from the data with significance to the aim. The chunks were inductively coded and codes that had the same meaning were grouped together and formulated categories [8].

Results: Three categories were identified, Experiencing the unexpected, Being constantly reminded of fragility and Balancing a change in the relationship. The partners had a positive attitude towards the screening and were pleased that their husbands were under surveillance but at the same time it caused worries and many questions. The AAAs were a constant reminder in daily activities and sometimes the partners felt limited because of the men's diagnosis. Ambivalent feelings towards a surgical treatment were described. It was in general the only solution to remove the AAA and its negative impacts but at the same time unpleasant feelings were expressed. Furthermore, the partners tried to support the men and encourage them to achieve a healthy lifestyle to prevent the AAA to increase.

Conclusion: The result from this study increase the understanding of the partners' experiences of living with a man with a diagnosed AAA and its impact it has on their well-being and daily life. Recurrent in all three categories are different degrees of worry. According to the result it is of importance to include the partners in the care of the men having an AAA and to provide family -centred support.

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.