The social representations of diagnosing Lyme disease.
PLoS One
; 18(2): e0276800, 2023.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36757987
ABSTRACT
Social science studies on the controversy surrounding Lyme disease (LD) focused on the opposition between the "mainstream" and biomedical approach on one side and the "Lyme-literate" one on the other side, the latter claiming the existence of the chronic form of LD. The qualitative and exploratory study 'C18-48 Quali-Explo-PIQTIQ' (2019) investigated the social representations of LD in patients bitten by a tick. Twenty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted in three French medical units. Thematic and patient trajectory analyses were performed. Our results showed that, after the tick bite, some patients presented an "illness without disease" condition, characterised by uncertainty. In some cases, they consulted "Lyme-literate" health providers and received a diagnosis of chronic LD. This diagnosis was obtained by prescribing unassessed biological testing, providing an objective result and clinical categorisation. Unlike literature on the "Lyme-literate" approach, this diagnostic procedure involved some biomedical operations.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Ticks
/
Bites and Stings
/
Lyme Disease
/
Tick Bites
/
Post-Lyme Disease Syndrome
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
PLoS One
Journal subject:
CIENCIA
/
MEDICINA
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
France