Wieslander Cecilia K, Alas Alexandriah, Dunivan Gena C, Sevilla Claudia, Cichowski Sara, Maliski Sally, Eilber Karyn, Rogers Rebecca G, Anger Jennifer T
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, 14445 Olive View Drive, Rm 6D112, Sylmar, CA, 91342, USA,
Int Urogynecol J. 2015 Apr;26(4):597-604. doi: 10.1007/s00192-014-2562-z. Epub 2014 Dec 17.
Limited data exist on women's experience with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) symptoms. We aimed to describe factors that prevent disease understanding among Spanish-speaking and English-speaking women.
Women with POP were recruited from female urology and urogynecology clinics in Los Angeles, California, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Eight focus groups were conducted, four in Spanish and four in English. Topics addressed patients' emotional responses when noticing their prolapse, how they sought support, what verbal and written information was given, and their overall feelings of the process. Additionally, patients were asked about their experience with their treating physician. All interview transcripts were analyzed using grounded theory qualitative methods.
Qualitative analysis yielded two preliminary themes. First, women had misconceptions about what POP is as well as its causes and treatments. Second, there was a great deal of miscommunication between patient and physician which led to decreased understanding about the diagnosis and treatment options. This included the fact that women were often overwhelmed with information which they did not understand. The concept emerged that there is a strong need for better methods to achieve disease and treatment understanding for women with POP.
Our findings emphasize that women with POP have considerable misconceptions about their disease. In addition, there is miscommunication during the patient-physician interaction that leads to further confusion among Spanish-speaking and English-speaking women. Spending more time explaining the diagnosis of POP, rather than focusing solely on treatment options, may reduce miscommunication and increase patient understanding.
关于女性盆腔器官脱垂（POP）症状体验的数据有限。我们旨在描述阻碍说西班牙语和英语的女性了解该疾病的因素。
从加利福尼亚州洛杉矶市和新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基市的女性泌尿外科和妇科诊所招募患有盆腔器官脱垂的女性。开展了8个焦点小组讨论，其中4个用西班牙语进行，4个用英语进行。讨论主题包括患者注意到自己脱垂时的情绪反应、她们寻求支持的方式、所获得的口头和书面信息以及她们对整个过程的总体感受。此外，还询问了患者与治疗医生的经历。所有访谈记录均采用扎根理论定性方法进行分析。
定性分析得出两个初步主题。首先，女性对盆腔器官脱垂是什么、其病因和治疗方法存在误解。其次，患者与医生之间存在大量沟通不畅的情况，这导致对诊断和治疗方案的理解减少。这包括女性常常被她们不理解的信息弄得不知所措这一事实。由此形成的概念是，迫切需要更好的方法来让患有盆腔器官脱垂的女性了解疾病和治疗方法。
我们的研究结果强调，患有盆腔器官脱垂的女性对自己的疾病存在相当多的误解。此外，在医患互动过程中存在沟通不畅的情况，这导致说西班牙语和英语的女性进一步感到困惑。花更多时间解释盆腔器官脱垂的诊断，而不是仅关注治疗方案，可能会减少沟通不畅并增加患者的理解。
