A phenomenological study on the lived experience of men with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Abstract

Whilst chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has been widely researched amongst women, studies investigating how men experience a CFS diagnosis is limited. This study utilised an interpretative phenomenological approach to interview five men who have a medical diagnosis of CFS. Six themes emerged to demonstrate the participants’ experiences prior to, during and after obtaining their CFS diagnosis. Findings revealed that participants were initially reluctant to accept their condition, confounded by their perception that symptoms compromised their sense of masculinity. They also felt that healthcare professionals had limited recognition of CFS leading them to seek social support and legitimisation from other sources. The struggle to come to terms with a different lifestyle and sense of masculinity prevailed. Such knowledge could be effectively utilised by researchers, practitioners and employers to facilitate an increased understanding of male accounts of the condition and more bespoke interventions where required.

“I’m telling you my story, not publishing a blog”: Considerations and suggestions on data sharing in qualitative health psychology research on sensitive topics

“…Furthermore, if data in a form of full transcripts is made publicly available (e.g. Snell et al, 2024) there is a non-trivial concern that not only researchers may access it. Branney et al (2019) suggest that in cases “where research is common fodder for popular media, researchers may have to consider the risks to data sharing and how to explore these risks with their participants and study partners” (p. 498).…”