Title

An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Somatic Disorders, Stigma, and Opportunities for Integrated Care.

Location

1047

Format Type

Event

Format Type

Paper

Start Date

January 2019

End Date

January 2019

Abstract

In the face of constantly evolving healthcare, it is necessary to produce literature that explores the preservation and advancement of integrated care (IC). One important contribution of IC is its efficiency in treating disorders that are a burden to the healthcare system. An umbrella of disorders that is inherently a burden is the somatic disorder category.

Somatic disorders (SDs) are costly and time-consuming to treat for providers and patients. They encompass both physical and psychological elements that require treatment from several disciplines. While SDs are an important subject to research in relation to integrated care, there are few U.S. studies that do this.

With the purpose of establishing a foundation with which to add to the SD and IC literature, this study uses qualitative analysis to explore individual experiences of this phenomenon in the context of stigma, perceived effective treatment techniques, and opportunities for integration.

Six participants who identified as having an experience with unexplained distressing physical symptoms were recruited and interviewed. The interviews were analyzed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to identify overarching themes. The discussion portion of this paper broadly explores ways we can adapt diagnosis and treatment for SD utilizing IC.

Keywords

IPA, somatic disorders, health psychology, stigma, phenomenology, integrated care

Comments

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An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Somatic Disorders, Stigma, and Opportunities for Integrated Care.

1047

In the face of constantly evolving healthcare, it is necessary to produce literature that explores the preservation and advancement of integrated care (IC). One important contribution of IC is its efficiency in treating disorders that are a burden to the healthcare system. An umbrella of disorders that is inherently a burden is the somatic disorder category.

Somatic disorders (SDs) are costly and time-consuming to treat for providers and patients. They encompass both physical and psychological elements that require treatment from several disciplines. While SDs are an important subject to research in relation to integrated care, there are few U.S. studies that do this.

With the purpose of establishing a foundation with which to add to the SD and IC literature, this study uses qualitative analysis to explore individual experiences of this phenomenon in the context of stigma, perceived effective treatment techniques, and opportunities for integration.

Six participants who identified as having an experience with unexplained distressing physical symptoms were recruited and interviewed. The interviews were analyzed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to identify overarching themes. The discussion portion of this paper broadly explores ways we can adapt diagnosis and treatment for SD utilizing IC.