Focus group study of endometriosis: Struggle, loss and the medical merry‐go‐round

Cox H, Helen Cox, Lorraine Henderson, Henderson L, Andersen N, Natalie Andersen, Cagliarini G, Glenda Cagliarini, Chantal Ski, Chantal F. Ski
International journal of nursing practice · 2003 · vol. 9(1) , pp. 2–9 · doi:10.1046/j.1440-172x.2003.00396.x · PMID:12588614 · W2030858367
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This focus group study identified that women with endometriosis experience significant struggles, losses, and a lack of adequate support, particularly from healthcare professionals who often dismiss their symptoms.

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Abstract

Women with endometriosis experience a range of problems for which they may or may not be adequately supported. This paper reports on one aspect of a study conducted at the Epworth Hospital, Melbourne, to identify the information needs of women facing laparoscopy for endometriosis. A number of focus groups were conducted that provided women with a forum for communicating their experiences of endometriosis and laparoscopy. The findings include the experiences of 61 women who described the lack of support, the struggles and the losses involved in living with endometriosis. By far the worst experience that these women described was the encounter with health professionals and the ways in which their symptoms were trivialised and dismissed. There is a great deal for nurses to learn about the experience of living with endometriosis if they are to support women with this chronic illness in their search for well-being.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Adaptation, Psychological Communication Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Focus Groups Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Humans Laparoscopy Pain Pain Pain Physician-Patient Relations

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (6)

Cited by (50)

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License: CC0 · commercial use OK