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Stigmatisation in medical encounters for patients with fibromyalgia: A focus group study.

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Title: Stigmatisation in medical encounters for patients with fibromyalgia: A focus group study.
Authors: Treufeldt, Hõbe1 (AUTHOR) h.treufeldt@sheffield.ac.uk, Burton, Christopher1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Patient Education & Counseling. Jan2026, Vol. 142, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
Subject Terms: *Focus groups, Fibromyalgia, Social stigma, Secondary traumatic stress, Trauma-informed care, Chronic pain, Stereotypes, Medical consultation
Abstract: People with the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia experience stigma relating to their condition, including in medical consultations. We aimed to understand how patients with fibromyalgia describe their experience of stigma in medical consultations, using a recently developed stereotypes-and-behaviours stigma framework, and to explore any aspects of stigma in consultations not encompassed by this framework. We conducted a qualitative focus group study in partnership with a Pan-European patient advocacy group for people with chronic pain. We conducted six focus groups comprising 20 adults with fibromyalgia from seven different European countries. Analysis involved mapping of experiences to the stereotype-behaviour stigma framework and an inductive analysis, informed by concepts of trauma and retraumatisation. Mapping experiences to the framework indicated that participants described many different forms of condition related stigmatisation in medical consultations. These accounts corresponded to all but one of the 18 stereotype-behaviour pairs. The most frequently observed pair was person-othering, followed by stigma targeting the condition rather than the person or their behaviour. Inductive analysis examined the repeated nature of stigmatisation in medical consultations for fibromyalgia. The pattern of events, experiences and long term effects of this is suggestive of medically induced retraumatisation. Stigmatisation in medical consultations for people with fibromyalgia takes many form; these can be categorised using a framework of stereotypes and behaviours. When stigmatising experiences are repeated, they may comprise a form of medically induced retraumatisation. These findings underline the importance of a trauma-informed approach to care for this patient group. • Stigma in consultations for fibromyalgia takes many forms. • These can be categorised using a framework of stereotypes and behaviours. • Stigmatising consultations may contribute to retraumatisation. • The stereotype-behaviour framework could be used to teach stigma avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Patient Education & Counseling is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Stigmatisation in medical encounters for patients with fibromyalgia: A focus group study.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Treufeldt%2C+Hõbe%22">Treufeldt, Hõbe</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> h.treufeldt@sheffield.ac.uk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Burton%2C+Christopher%22">Burton, Christopher</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Focus+groups%22">Focus groups</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fibromyalgia%22">Fibromyalgia</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+stigma%22">Social stigma</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+traumatic+stress%22">Secondary traumatic stress</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Trauma-informed+care%22">Trauma-informed care</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chronic+pain%22">Chronic pain</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stereotypes%22">Stereotypes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+consultation%22">Medical consultation</searchLink>
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  Data: People with the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia experience stigma relating to their condition, including in medical consultations. We aimed to understand how patients with fibromyalgia describe their experience of stigma in medical consultations, using a recently developed stereotypes-and-behaviours stigma framework, and to explore any aspects of stigma in consultations not encompassed by this framework. We conducted a qualitative focus group study in partnership with a Pan-European patient advocacy group for people with chronic pain. We conducted six focus groups comprising 20 adults with fibromyalgia from seven different European countries. Analysis involved mapping of experiences to the stereotype-behaviour stigma framework and an inductive analysis, informed by concepts of trauma and retraumatisation. Mapping experiences to the framework indicated that participants described many different forms of condition related stigmatisation in medical consultations. These accounts corresponded to all but one of the 18 stereotype-behaviour pairs. The most frequently observed pair was person-othering, followed by stigma targeting the condition rather than the person or their behaviour. Inductive analysis examined the repeated nature of stigmatisation in medical consultations for fibromyalgia. The pattern of events, experiences and long term effects of this is suggestive of medically induced retraumatisation. Stigmatisation in medical consultations for people with fibromyalgia takes many form; these can be categorised using a framework of stereotypes and behaviours. When stigmatising experiences are repeated, they may comprise a form of medically induced retraumatisation. These findings underline the importance of a trauma-informed approach to care for this patient group. • Stigma in consultations for fibromyalgia takes many forms. • These can be categorised using a framework of stereotypes and behaviours. • Stigmatising consultations may contribute to retraumatisation. • The stereotype-behaviour framework could be used to teach stigma avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Patient Education & Counseling is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1016/j.pec.2025.109381
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Social stigma
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              Text: Jan2026
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              Y: 2026
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