Category: Medical Care

Chronic fatigue syndrome: sufferers’ evaluation of medical support

Abstract:

In response to reports of negative cooperation between sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and their doctors, semi-structured interviews were conducted with sufferers from two different patient samples.

Satisfaction with support received and with medical professionals in general was low. Sufferers complained about insufficient informational as well as emotional support from their doctors, and as a consequence most opted for alternative or complementary forms of treatment.

In addition, disagreements over illness aetiology and treatment precluded effective cooperation. If satisfaction and compliance are to improve, sufferers will need more information about CFS and more support.

 

Source: Ax S, Gregg VH, Jones D. Chronic fatigue syndrome: sufferers’ evaluation of medical support. J R Soc Med. 1997 May;90(5):250-4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1296257/ (Full article)

 

Patterns of utilization of medical care and perceptions of the relationship between doctor and patient with chronic illness including chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

To what extent do personal constructs affect the relationship between doctor and patient when the ill patient does not readily recover with treatment?

Questionnaires were returned anonymously by 609 patients with a self-reported diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, who were considered chronically ill. Findings were compared with those of an earlier study of a population of 397 general medical patients.

The chronically ill patients lost an average of 65 days of work per year due to illness compared to general medical patients who missed six or fewer days per year because they were ill. The chronically ill patients also reported a 66% higher frequency of iatrogenic illness, spent more money on health care, took more medication, saw more specialists, and were more litigious than the general medical population.

Research suggested several patterns of relationships between doctors and patients, and attitudes to health and illness, which may alert doctors to patients’ perceptions, beliefs, encoded constructs, and patterns of relating that affect responses to treatment. More attention by doctors to patients who are experiencing the stress of chronic illness is indicated.

 

Source: Twemlow SW, Bradshaw SL Jr, Coyne L, Lerma BH. Patterns of utilization of medical care and perceptions of the relationship between doctor and patient with chronic illness including chronic fatigue syndrome. Psychol Rep. 1997 Apr;80(2):643-58. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9129381