Manglende anerkendelse af endometriose i ungdomsårene i et kritisk hermeneutisk perspektiv

Abstract

Titel: Manglende anerkendelse af endometriose i ungdomsårene - i et kritisk hermeneutisk perspektiv. Baggrund: Endometriose er en sygdom, der på verdensplan ses hos 10% af alle kvinder i den fødedygtige alder. Trods den store forekomst går der mellem 4 til 11 år fra de første symptomer opstår, til at diagnosen stilles, hvor størstedelen oplever symptomer starter i teenageårene. Endometriose påvirker kvindernes livsførelse både fysisk, psykisk og socialt, og manglende anerkendelse fra samfundet gør, at kvindernes smerter negligeres, skjules og normaliseres. Forebyggende tiltag rettet endometriose i ungdomsårene er begrænsede, og der er et behov for at forandre måden, hvorpå symptomer på endometriose opfattes og påvirkes af samfundet. Formål: Specialets formål er at undersøge den oplevelse kvinder, hvis symptomer på endometriose startede i ungdommen, har af deres sociale netværks påvirkning på sygdomsopfattelse og livskvalitet. Metode: Med udgangspunkt i kritisk hermeneutik, foretages individuelle interviews med kvinder med endometriose. Empirien analyseres og fortolkes ud fra Pedersen og Dreyers (2018) fortolkning af Ricoeurs kritiske fortolkningsteori. I den kritiske fortolkning inddrages Arthur Kleinmans begreb om illness narrativ og Axel Honneths anerkendelsesteori for at løfte fortolkningen af det fælles i kvindernes oplevelser til et almengyldigt niveau. Desuden udarbejdes et systematisk litteraturstudie, der anvendes i resultatdiskussionen, sammen med anden videnskabelig litteratur, som er en fortsættelse af den kritiske fortolkning af de primære fund. Resultater: Resultater fra den kritiske fortolkning samt det systematiske litteraturstudie fremhæver, at kvinder oplever en kamp for at få anerkendelse af symptomer fra herunder familie, venner og sundhedsprofessionelle, da symptomer forbundet med menstruation afskrives som normale for kvinder. Diagnosen opnås efter års kamp for anerkendelse og bliver derfor en ny mulighed for at blive forstået, hvor også nye muligheder for at mestre livet med endometriose opstår. Konklusion: For at anerkende unge kvinder med endometriose er der behov for at forandre den eksisterende samfundsdiskurs omhandlende kvinders smerter og menstruation. Gennem interventioner på et mesoniveau eksempelvis i skoler, på sociale medier samt for sundhedsprofessionelle kan man muligvis påvirke og forandre den diskursive samtale, som er i mødet mellem kvinder med endometriose og deres netværk.

Title: Lacking recognition of endometriosis in adolescence – in a critical hermeneutic perspective. Background: Endometriosis is a disease that worldwide is found in 10% of all women of childbearing age. In spite of this large prevalence, it takes 4 to 11 years from first onset of symptoms until time of diagnosis, and the majority experience symptoms debut in adolescence. Endometriosis affects the women’s lives both physically, psychologically and socially, and lack of recognition from society causes the pain the women experience to be neglected, hidden and normalized. Preventative measures targeting endometriosis in adolescence are limited and there is a need to change the way these symptoms are viewed and affected by society at large. Aim: The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the experience that women, whose symptoms of endometriosis started in adolescence, have of their social networks effect on their own perception of the disease and quality of life. Method: With a critical hermeneutic approach, individual interviews were conducted with women who have endometriosis, and the analysis and interpretation were done with the method developed by Pedersen and Dreyer’s (2018) based on Ricoeur’s critical theory. In the critical interpretation, both Arthur Kleinman’s understanding of illness narrative and Axel Honneth’s recognition theory are applied to raise the interpretation of the common threads of the women’s experiences to a level of generalized inference. A systematic literature study was also conducted and the results of this, and other scientific literature, is applied to the discussion of the primary results as a continuation of the critical interpretation. Findings: Results of the critical interpretation and the systematic literature study, shows that women experience having to fight for recognition of symptoms from their immediate surroundings including from family, friends, schools and health professionals, because symptoms that are considered linked to menstruation are deemed to be normal for women to experience. Diagnosis is obtained only after years of fighting for recognition and it therefore becomes a new opportunity to be understood, and it brings new opportunities for mastering life with endometriosis. Conclusion: To help adolescent women with endometriosis achieve recognition, there is a need to change the existing societal discourses surrounding women’s pain and menstruation. Through interventions at the meso level, for example in schools, on social media and targeting health professionals it might be possible to influence and change the discursive conversation that happens between the women with endometriosis and their social network.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

Manglende anerkendelse af endometriose i ungdomsårene i et kritisk hermeneutisk perspektiv

[Lacking recognition of endometriosis in adolescence in a critical hermeneutic perspective]