Patients' experiences of living with and receiving treatment for fibromyalgia syndrome: a qualitative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) presents a challenge for patients and health care staff across many medical specialities. The aetiology is multi-dimensional, involving somatic, psychological and social factors. Patients' views were obtained to understand their experience of living with this long-term condition, using qualitative interviews.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>12 patients were recruited and stratified by age, gender and ethnicity from one rheumatology outpatient clinic, and a departmental held database of patients diagnosed with FMS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients' accounts of their experience of FMS resonated well with two central concepts: social identity and illness intrusiveness. These suggested three themes for the analytical framework: life before and after diagnosis (e.g. lack of information about FMS, invisibility of FMS); change in health identity (e.g. mental distress, impact on social life) and perceived quality of care (e.g. lack of contact with nurses, attitudes of specialists). The information provided from one male participant did not differ from the female patients, but black and ethnic community patients expressed a degree of suspicion towards the medication prescribed, and the attitudes displayed by some doctors, a finding that has not been previously reported amongst this patient group. Patients expected more consultation time and effective treatment than they received. Subjective experiences and objective physical and emotional changes were non-overlapping. Patients' accounts revealed that their physical, mental and social health was compromised, at times overwhelming and affected their identity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>FMS is a condition that intrudes upon many aspects of patients' lives and is little understood. At the same time, it is a syndrome that evokes uneasiness in health care staff (as current diagnostic criteria are not well supported by objective markers of physiological or biochemical nature, and indeed because of doubt about the existence of the condition) and places great demands on resources in clinical practice. Greater attention needs to be paid to the links between the explanatory models of patients and staff, and most important, to the interrelationship between the complex physical, psychological and social needs of patients with FMS. Taking a less medical but more holistic approach when drawing up new diagnostic criteria for FMS might match better individuals' somatic and psycho-social symptom profile and may result in more effective treatment.</p

Vertical profiling of atmospheric air pollutants in rural India: A case study on particulate matter (PM10/PM2.5/PM1), carbon dioxide, and formaldehyde

Particulate matter is one of the major air pollutants that challenge the environment and human health. In this study, we used an unmanned aerial vehicle associated with smart, low-cost sensors to record the vertical profiles of particulate matters (PM10/PM2.5/PM1), carbon dioxide, and formaldehyde in a rural area of southern India. Our study covered the surface to 60 m above the ground level compiling data over twenty days of measurements in March 2021. A total of thirty flights were performed in the five selected locations. The data show a decrease in air pollutant concentration with increasing height from the surface. However, statistical data analysis through CHAID Decision Trees and 3-D visualization of the relationship between the pollutants and the height, RH, and temperature show that the concentration of pollutants is more strongly influenced by the location and meteorological parameters rather than the height from the surface. We infer that transport through both advection and convection influences the vertical distribution of air pollutants as inferred from meteorological analysis, including back trajectories using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT4) model. The long-range transport of air mass could also contribute to the high concentration values of particulate matters, as found through the five-day air mass backward trajectory analysis. Although the observed data sets are confined to a height of 60 m AGL, the results from this study provide insights into the vertical distribution of air pollutants, complementing ground-based measurement variations with different spacing and timing