Functional neurological disorder is a feminist issue

Abstract

Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a common and disabling disorder, often misunderstood by clinicians. Although viewed sceptically by some, FND is a diagnosis that can be made accurately, based on positive clinical signs, with clinical features that have remained stable for over 100 years. Despite some progress in the last decade, people with FND continue to suffer subtle and overt forms of discrimination by clinicians, researchers and the public. There is abundant evidence that disorders perceived as primarily affecting women are neglected in healthcare and medical research, and the course of FND mirrors this neglect. We outline the reasons why FND is a feminist issue, incorporating historical and contemporary clinical, research and social perspectives. We call for parity for FND in medical education, research and clinical service development so that people affected by FND can receive the care they need.

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Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	McLoughlin, C. Hoeritzauer, I. Cabreira, V. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9945-7681 Aybek, S. Adams, C. Alty, J. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5456-8676 Ball, H.A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2137-7582 Baker, J. Bullock, K. Burness, C. Dworetzky, B.A. Finkelstein, S. Garcin, B. Gelauff, J. Goldstein, L.H. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9387-3035 Jordbru, A. Huys, A.-C.M.L. Laffan, A. Lidstone, S.C. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0147-0202 Linden, S.C. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2120-3811 Ludwig, L. Maggio, J. Morgante, F. Mallam, E. Nicholson, C. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8047-6820 O’Neal, M. O‘Sullivan, S. Pareés, I. Petrochilos, P. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3880-8799 Pick, S. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2001-6723 Phillips, W. Roelofs, K. Newby, R. Stanton, B. Gray, C. Joyce, E.M. Tijssen, M.A.J. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5783-571X Chalder, T. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0775-1045 McCormick, M. Gardiner, P. Bègue, I. Tuttle, M.C. Williams, I. McRae, S. Voon, V. McWhirter, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9839-6549
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Keywords:	conversion disorder; functional neurological disorder; neuropsychiatry; somatisation disorder; Humans; Female; Nervous System Diseases; Conversion Disorder; Biomedical Research
Dates:	Published: October 2023 Published (online): 28 March 2023 Accepted: 26 February 2023
Institution:	The University of Sheffield
Academic Units:	The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Medicine and Population Health
Funding Information:	Funder Grant number EUROPEAN COMMISSION - HORIZON 2020 956673
Depositing User:	Symplectic Sheffield
Date Deposited:	11 Sep 2024 14:57
Last Modified:	11 Sep 2024 14:57
Status:	Published
Publisher:	BMJ
Refereed:	Yes
Identification Number:	10.1136/jnnp-2022-330192
Related URLs:	PubMed URL
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:216992

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Functional neurological disorder is a feminist issue

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