Missbruksstämplar, missförstånd och missförhållande : Hur sjukvårdens respektive närståendes bemötanden påverkar en grupp endometriospatienters identitet

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how a group of five endometriosis patients who have, at some point, sought medical attention for their symptoms in Sweden, perceive the healthcare system and their loved ones to react to their pain, and how these reactions affect the informants’ self-identities. The study is based on five semi-structured interviews with endometriosis patients, and to generate better understanding of the material, phenomenology has been used as the theoretical framework of this thesis. In short, the majority of the reactions from the healthcare system have been negative, the majority of the reactions from the loved ones have been positive, and higher pain levels during flareups correlate with stronger identification with the endometriosis diagnosis. There are, however, some outliers in each category mentioned.