Exploring repeated clinical encounters: an arts-informed participatory project for women and gender minorities living with chronic illnesses
| dc.contributor.author | Sebring, Jennifer C.H. | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | McPhail, Deborah (Community Health Sciences) | en_US |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Woodgate, Roberta (Nursing) | en_US |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Kelly, Christine | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-07-20T20:03:26Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-07-20T20:03:26Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 2022-07-20 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022-07-19 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2022-07-20T14:11:19Z | en_US |
| dc.degree.discipline | Community Health Sciences | en_US |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Science (M.Sc.) | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Background: Living with a chronic illness involves frequent interactions with health care professionals and the health care system to manage one’s symptoms. Yet, little research conceptualizes health care interactions as a stressor that may exacerbate or contribute to symptoms. Objectives: This study sought to better understand the health care experiences of women and gender minorities living with chronic illnesses by answering the following research question: Using arts-informed methods, how do women and gender minorities living with chronic illness understand and experience “patienthood?” The project had three objectives: 1) Identify the effects of repeated health care interactions on people living with chronic illnesses and the strategies they use to navigate these interactions and effects; 2) Explore the theoretical concept of “patienthood” through an arts-informed, critical disability lens; and 3) Examine the potential of arts-informed health research as a transformative practice. Methodology: An arts-informed, patient-oriented lens guided the study. Workshops, involving a multi-media collage activity and focus group discussion, were conducted with ten participants. Data analysis included two phases: first, a reflexive thematic analysis to analyze the focus group transcripts, and second, an interpretive approach informed by critical disability studies to analyze the artwork produced by participants. Results: Participants often experienced dismissal or disregard for their concerns during clinical encounters, conceptualized as ‘medical invalidation.’ Experiencing this repeatedly had significant consequences for participants’ well-being, willingness to seek care, and the support they sought and received from their social support systems. We emphasize that medical invalidation is not merely a one-off interpersonal interaction, but influences and is influenced by broader sociocultural ideas about illness and disability. Discussion: Addressing medical invalidation requires a commitment to person-centred, humanist care and critical reflexivity in the medical clinic, as well as a re-imagining of public discourse around illness and disability that affirms and embraces embodied difference. | en_US |
| dc.description.note | October 2022 | en_US |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship-Masters (CGS-M) Research Manitoba; Masters Studentship | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1993/36626 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | en_US |
| dc.rights | open access | en_US |
| dc.subject | arts-based research | en_US |
| dc.subject | gender | en_US |
| dc.subject | critical disability studies | en_US |
| dc.subject | patienthood | en_US |
| dc.subject | medical invalidation | en_US |
| dc.subject | chronic health conditions | en_US |
| dc.subject | chronic illness | en_US |
| dc.title | Exploring repeated clinical encounters: an arts-informed participatory project for women and gender minorities living with chronic illnesses | en_US |
| dc.type | master thesis | en_US |
| local.subject.manitoba | yes | en_US |
| oaire.awardTitle | MPN Primary Healthcare Research Partnership Award | en_US |
| oaire.awardURI | https://manitoba-pihcinet.com/2019/11/20/building-primary-health-care-research-capacity-in-manitoba/ | en_US |
| project.funder.name | Manitoba Primary & Integrated Healthcare Innovation Network | en_US |