Learning to take charge: women's experiences of living with endometriosis

Cox H, Helen Cox, Henderson L, Lorraine Henderson, Wood R, Ros Wood, Cagliarini G, Glenda Cagliarini
Complementary therapies in nursing & midwifery · 2003 · vol. 9(2) , pp. 62–68 · doi:10.1016/s1353-6117(02)00138-5 · PMID:12697156 · W2027585519
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 85 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

This qualitative study explored women's lived experiences of managing endometriosis, focusing on their navigation of healthcare and daily life challenges.

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Abstract

This paper describes aspects of a study that was conducted to determine women's needs for information related to laparoscopy for endometriosis. Sixty-one women attended focus groups, during which they described endometriosis as a disease of multiple losses: of relationships, of career and of a sense of self-worth. The women indicated that the pathway to diagnosis and treatment had been long and unnecessarily difficult. Many women said that they had reached a point where they decided enough was enough: the medical merry-go-round had to finish. They had to become assertive, take control and decide for themselves how they were going to manage their disease and their quality of life. For all but one woman in the study, complementary therapies were vital. For some women, alternative therapies had replaced allopathic medicine completely. Complementary/alternative therapies were a mechanism for regaining control.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Adaptation, Psychological Complementary Therapies Endometriosis Quality of Life Women's Health Adult Australia Complementary Therapies Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Focus Groups Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Humans Laparoscopy Middle Aged Pain Pain Pain

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 (15)

Cited by (50)

Source provenance

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