Implications of the quality of the doctor-patient relationship on health in adult ME/CFS patients... 2023 Habermann-Horstmeier & Horstmeier

Full title: Implications of the quality of the doctor-patient relationship on health in adult ME/CFS patients. A qualitative public health study from a patien [sic] perspective

Background: Most patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are dissatisfied with medical care. They complain about e. g. the lack of medical recognition of ME/CFS as a neuroimmunological disease and the medical perception of those affected as "difficult patients".

Method: As part of an exploratory qualitative survey, 544 medically diagnosed ME/CFS patients (> 20 years; 455 ♀, 89 ♂) were asked about their subjective experiences with regard to the doctor-patient relationships (DP relationship) to their treating physicians. The questionnaire was structured analogously to a focused, standardized guideline interview. The written answers were evaluated using a qualitative content analysis according to Mayring.

Results: The participants reported a significant deterioration in their health situation and their quality of life as a result of misdiagnoses and incorrect treatments, the strained DP relationship and the lack of support from the physicians. All of this leads to fear of visiting the doctor, a general loss of trust in physicians, a feeling of helplessness up to bitterness and resignation - with suicide as the last mental option for some patients to escape from this precarious situation. During medical consultations, other participants only addressed health problems that were not related to ME/CFS, or only went to the doctor in an emergency, or refrained from contacting doctors entirely.

Conclusions: The DP relationship described by the participants as problematic in their opinion has significant negative health consequences for them. It is therefore of great urgency to develop a patient-centred treatment concept that focuses on ME/CFS patients as experts on their own illness.

Pubmed abstract only link, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38062324/
Link to journal (which didn't work for me), https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s15006-023-2894-z
Link to journal in next post.

 

This link should work (only the first part of the above link appears to be broken): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s15006-023-2894-z.

 

Looks like an interesting paper with a large sample size. Unfortunate that it is only published in German and behind a paywall.