Stigmatisation in medical encounters for persistent physical symptoms/functional disorders: Scoping review and thematic synthesis.
Patient Educ Couns
; 123: 108198, 2024 Jun.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38367305
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To conduct a scoping review of stigma in medical encounters for persistent physical symptoms and functional disorders (PPS/FD). Stigma is a social attribute that links a person to an undesirable characteristic. It has been extensively studied in relation to mental illness but less so in relation to PPS/FD.METHODS:
We followed PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines for scoping reviews. Searches for were designed using the SPIDER tool. We used descriptive and thematic analysis.RESULTS:
The searches identified 68 articles, of which 32 were eligible for inclusion. 31 out of the 32 studies used a qualitative methodology. 8 studies used an explicit definition of stigma, of which 6 used the Goffman (1963) definition. Only 2 studies directly examined clinical consultations, the remainder relied on recalled accounts by patients or professionals. Descriptive analysis identified the focus of the studies included patient-physician interaction (n = 13); health care professionals' perceptions (n = 7); experiences of illness/stigma (n = 6); broader meaning of illness (n = 3); and patients' experiences of stigma in health care consultations (n = 3).CONCLUSION:
Patients experience stigmatisation in consultations for a wide range of PPS/FD. This suggests the presence of structural stigmatisation. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS There is a need for effective stigma reduction strategies in consultations about persistent physical symptoms.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Physician-Patient Relations
/
Stereotyping
/
Social Stigma
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Patient Educ Couns
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Country of publication:
Ireland