An Exploration of the Experience of Lesbians with Chronic Illness
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3648070 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elizabeth L Walden (University of Houston - Downtown, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 548-574 |
| Publication date | 2009-06-30 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Homosexuality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0091-8369 • E-ISSN: 1540-3602 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00918360903005220 |
| PMID | 19591033 |
| OpenAlex | W2023627415 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 72 |
An exploration of the challenges facing lesbians with chronic conditions and their coping strategies was investigated by examining the experiences of participants who were clients of a volunteer organization serving chronically ill lesbians. This article reports the results associated with those challenges, with its ultimate goal being and to assess the effectiveness of current services. Using the participant observation method, as employed by O'Toole (2000), the analysis was based on multiple data sources and 10 years experience within the volunteer organization, including 3 years in direct client support. A qualitative method served as the primary focus for the study. The quantitative method preceded the qualitative method and provided limited supporting data. The total number of participants included all past and current clients, but the number participating in each data source varied. Qualitative sources included archival structured interviews (n = 69), taped interviews (n = 5-6), and extensive comments written in response to the quantitative surveys (n = 14). The quantitative measures (n = 14) included the researcher-developed Chronic Conditions Challenges Checklist (C4) and the Short Form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire ([SF-MPQ]; Melzack, 1998). A content analysis of all data sources found a number of challenges that met the criteria of being identified in at least two data sources and across multiple participants. Challenges included those related to the disease process (i.e., pain, fatigue, and decreases in mobility) to impacts of the condition (financial security, ability to participate, support from family of origin and independence, loneliness, and issues related to mental health). Challenges were discussed in terms of those that are similar to and different from other women suffering from chronic illness, as well as their relevance to related literature
Checklist · Content analysis · Coping (psychology · Focus group · Loneliness · Mental health · Psychiatry · Qualitative property · Qualitative research · Sociology · Clinical Psychology · Diabetes Management and Education · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Social Psychology
Sexual orientation and gender as factors in socioculturally acquired vulnerability to body dissatisfaction and eating disorders.
Alcohol and drug use among homosexual men and women
Health Behaviors, Health Status, and Access to and Use of Health Care
Sexual Orientation and Health
The McGill Pain Questionnaire
The short-form McGill pain questionnaire
National Lesbian Health Care Survey
Breast and cervical cancer among lesbians
Understanding lesbians’ mammography utilization
Caring for lesbians in a homophobic society
Health life‐styles of lesbian and heterosexual women
Lesbians as an invisible minority in the health services arena
Reasons American lesbians fail to seek traditional health Care
Women's Voices in Health Promotion
National Lesbian Health Care Survey
Lesbians and the Health Care System
Lesbians giving and receiving care
Deciding Who to See
Use of alcohol among lesbians
Emerging issues in research on lesbians' and gay men's mental health
Lesbians Over 65
Health Care Professionals' Attitudes Toward Lesbian Women and Gay Men
Homophobia and the Moral Authority of Medicine
Perceived Emotional Support from Family and Friends in Members of Homosexual, Married, and Heterosexual Cohabiting Couples
| Citations per year | 0.13 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2011 - 2024 (14) |
| Highly cited | No |