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Fibromyalgi - historien om en diagnos i Sverige från ett antropologiskt perspektiv

Olsson, Frida LU (2018) SANK02 20171
Social Anthropology
Abstract
Recent decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of so-called contested illnesses and diagnoses, including chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), myalgic encephalitis (ME), fibromyalgia (FM), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), whiplash, burn-out and several others. These are overlapping conditions characterized by numerous common symptoms which, due to them being biomedically non-verifiable, can be seen to constitute an anomaly in a world – both among lay people and the medical profession – heavily dominated by the influences of the biomedical paradigm.
One of the diagnoses that have emerged is fibromyalgia, the label for a condition whose main symptoms include chronic widespread pain, fatigue,... (More)
Recent decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of so-called contested illnesses and diagnoses, including chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), myalgic encephalitis (ME), fibromyalgia (FM), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), whiplash, burn-out and several others. These are overlapping conditions characterized by numerous common symptoms which, due to them being biomedically non-verifiable, can be seen to constitute an anomaly in a world – both among lay people and the medical profession – heavily dominated by the influences of the biomedical paradigm.
One of the diagnoses that have emerged is fibromyalgia, the label for a condition whose main symptoms include chronic widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances etc., and is particularly common among women. Drawing on mostly anthropological theories and earlier research concerning illness and disease, medicine as a cultural system and the processes by which a diagnosis is established etc., this thesis explores and discusses the history of the fibromyalgia diagnosis, with a focus on the creation of the diagnosis and how it was subsequently established in Sweden. Here the importance of the publication and endorsement of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for FM, as well as patient organizations and support groups, will be highlighted. The main focus, however, lies on the understanding of fibromyalgia in the scientific sphere of medicine, that is, how the Swedish medical profession view and approach FM. (Less)
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author
Olsson, Frida LU
supervisor
organization
course
SANK02 20171
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
social anthropology, fibromyalgia, illness, disease, Lisbeth Sachs
language
Swedish
id
8933320
date added to LUP
2018-01-30 11:15:19
date last changed
2018-01-30 11:15:19
@misc{8933320,
  abstract     = {{Recent decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of so-called contested illnesses and diagnoses, including chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), myalgic encephalitis (ME), fibromyalgia (FM), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), whiplash, burn-out and several others. These are overlapping conditions characterized by numerous common symptoms which, due to them being biomedically non-verifiable, can be seen to constitute an anomaly in a world – both among lay people and the medical profession – heavily dominated by the influences of the biomedical paradigm. 
One of the diagnoses that have emerged is fibromyalgia, the label for a condition whose main symptoms include chronic widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances etc., and is particularly common among women. Drawing on mostly anthropological theories and earlier research concerning illness and disease, medicine as a cultural system and the processes by which a diagnosis is established etc., this thesis explores and discusses the history of the fibromyalgia diagnosis, with a focus on the creation of the diagnosis and how it was subsequently established in Sweden. Here the importance of the publication and endorsement of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for FM, as well as patient organizations and support groups, will be highlighted. The main focus, however, lies on the understanding of fibromyalgia in the scientific sphere of medicine, that is, how the Swedish medical profession view and approach FM.}},
  author       = {{Olsson, Frida}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Fibromyalgi - historien om en diagnos i Sverige från ett antropologiskt perspektiv}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}