Mezi bolestí a nedůvěrou: Sociální kontext sporných onemocnění na příkladu fibromyalgie

Abstract

This study explores the illness narratives of individuals diagnosed with fibromyalgia, focusing on how the condition's invisibility and the challenges surrounding the diagnostic process shape patients' everyday experiences and their inter-actions with healthcare and social systems. Grounded in the framework of the sociology of diagnosis, the study highlights how medical diagnoses are not merely clinical acts but are influenced by socio-political contexts, reflecting power dynamics between patients and physicians and embodying societal norms around illness and normality. Fibromyalgia, as a "contested illness," intensifies these dynamics, revealing the complexities of diagnosing conditions that lack clinical evidence. Through in-depth interviews with 10 participants diagnosed with fibromyalgia, the study examines how their subjective experiences of illness affect their trust in medical expertise and the broader social system, contributing to feelings of invalidation and a breakdown of institutional trust. The findings underscore the broader implications of contested diagnoses for the construction of illness meanings and access to social and medical resources.

This study explores the illness narratives of individuals diagnosed with fibromyalgia, focusing on how the condition's invisibility and the challenges surrounding the diagnostic process shape patients' everyday experiences and their inter-actions with healthcare and social systems. Grounded in the framework of the sociology of diagnosis, the study highlights how medical diagnoses are not merely clinical acts but are influenced by socio-political contexts, reflecting power dynamics between patients and physicians and embodying societal norms around illness and normality. Fibromyalgia, as a "contested illness," intensifies these dynamics, revealing the complexities of diagnosing conditions that lack clinical evidence. Through in-depth interviews with 10 participants diagnosed with fibromyalgia, the study examines how their subjective experiences of illness affect their trust in medical expertise and the broader social system, contributing to feelings of invalidation and a breakdown of institutional trust. The findings underscore the broader implications of contested diagnoses for the construction of illness meanings and access to social and medical resources.