Somatic Syndrome Disorder Clinical Trial
Official title:
Somatoform Disorder in British South Asians - What Are the Patients' Views?
The study uses in depth interviews to understand their experience of somatoform disorder, possible explanations and their experience of somatoform disorder, possible explanations and their understanding of treatments, especially their ideas about psychosocial treatments.
"Somatoform" or "functional" syndromes are those that present with physical symptoms, not
explained by well-recognized medical illness. Such symptoms are common in all settings and
studies have reported that they accounted for one-fifth of all new presentations in primary
care. Literature suggests that they are associated with significant levels of psychological
distress, disability, impairments in quality of life and high levels of healthcare
utilization. Research also suggests that medically unexplained symptoms cause similar (or
higher) levels of disability than medically explained symptoms in primary care settings.
There have been a number of studies that have looked at the cognitive and behavioural basis
of somatisation, and treatment strategies have been trialed based upon a cognitive behavior
therapy (CBT)-led approach for these patients.
In British South Asian patients the difficulties in managing this condition are further
compounded as culture can have an important role in shaping the experience, interpretation &
clinical presentation of emotional distress. Patel reported that GPs found it very
challenging to manage South Asian patients with chronic pain due to the way they present
with pain, and a greater likelihood of psychosomatic presentations. Language differences as
well as cultural differences contributed to the challenges, especially among first-
generation South Asians. Further, they felt that self-management strategies were difficult
to address. The author concludes by saying 'cultural influences play an important role in
the consultation process where patients' behaviour is often bound in their cultural view of
health care. (South Asian) patients' presentation of their condition makes diagnosis
difficult but can also lead to miscommunication'.
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Observational Model: Case-Only, Time Perspective: Cross-Sectional