Shallcross, R orcid.org/0000-0003-4764-0411, Dickson, JM, Nunns, D et al. (2 more authors) (2019) Women’s Experiences of Vulvodynia: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the Journey Toward Diagnosis. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48 (3). pp. 961-974. ISSN 0004-0002
Abstract
Vulvodynia is the experience of idiopathic pain characterized by burning, soreness, or throbbing in the external female genitalia or vulva and is estimated to be experienced by 4–16% of the female population, yet only half of women seek help regarding their symptoms. Of the women who do seek help, only around 2% obtain a diagnosis. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to explore the experiences of women with vulvodynia on their journey toward diagnosis, by using semi-structured interviews and an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology. Eight women were interviewed, and their experiences were analyzed and interpreted into three master themes, each with constituent sub-themes: (1) The Journey Is a Battle, (2) “What Is Vulvodynia?”: Ambivalence Toward Diagnosis, and (3) Patriarchy, Women, and Sex. Overall, women perceived a healthcare system which was dismissive and shaming, with an inadequate knowledge of vulvodynia. This in turn impacted on women’s psychological well-being. Psychological understanding, one-to-one therapy, and consultation and training for healthcare professionals may help to improve the psychological well-being of women with vulvodynia.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. |
Keywords: | Vulvodynia; Vulval/vulvar pain; Interpretative phenomenological analysis |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Healthcare (Leeds) > Nursing Mental Health (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Mar 2019 11:36 |
Last Modified: | 22 Mar 2019 11:36 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s10508-018-1246-z |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:143998 |
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