Nurses’ role in minimizing medical gaslighting and maximizing awareness in endometriosis care

Nurses’ role in minimizing medical gaslighting and maximizing awareness in endometriosis care Tuktena-Karhunen, Laura (2025) Tuktena-Karhunen, Laura 2025 Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202505028671 https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202505028671 Tiivistelmä Endometriosis has become a more frequent topic in the media and health care circles over the past decade, leading to improved recognition. However, the main issues reported by patients have largely remained unchanged, with a complex chain of reasons behind them. This bachelor’s thesis examines two of these reasons: medical gaslighting and lack of awareness, as well as the correlation between them. This thesis aims to evaluate how nursing professionals, within their scope of practice, can help increase awareness and, in turn, reduce the medical gaslighting that many patients still encounter. The objectives set to achieve this include gathering relevant research on patient experiences in endometriosis care, systematically analysing these studies, identifying prevalent themes, and discussing the findings from a nursing perspective. The research question guiding the analysis was: “What roles and functions could be undertaken by nurses to address the systemic and educational shortcomings and improve patient-centered care in endometriosis management?” This bachelor’s thesis was conducted as a descriptive literature review, with the results interpreted using qualitative content analysis. The data search was performed in the EBSCO CINAHL database, along with secondary sources, using various search prompts and combining the results. Nine articles, published between 2018 and 2023 from different countries, were selected for review. The results indicated that medical gaslighting, as well as lack of awareness and understanding of endometriosis among health care providers, patients, and the public, remain persistent obstacles to optimal care. While these emerged as the two main themes in the content analysis, the subcategories highlighted issues that could potentially be addressed by further involving nursing professionals in the management of endometriosis, particularly in the areas of information dissemination and communication. This bachelor’s thesis was conducted as a descriptive literature review, with the results interpreted using qualitative content analysis. The data search was performed in the EBSCO CINAHL database, along with secondary sources, using various search prompts and combining the results. Nine articles, published between 2018 and 2023 from different countries, were selected for review. The results indicated that medical gaslighting, as well as lack of awareness and understanding of endometriosis among health care providers, patients, and the public, remain persistent obstacles to optimal care. While these emerged as the two main themes in the content analysis, the subcategories highlighted issues that could potentially be addressed by further involving nursing professionals in the management of endometriosis, particularly in the areas of information dissemination and communication.