Understanding the Dialogical Experiences of Puerto Rican Women With Fibromyalgia: An Intersectional Analysis, 2021, De León-Menjivar

Abstract
Introduction: Fibromyalgia is a condition that is often misunderstood by the medical community. Misunderstandings are exacerbated when a patient is an ethnic minority, and recent literature suggests that ethnic minorities are shown to have a higher prevalence of fibromyalgia. Despite this information, many studies about fibromyalgia are conducted with Anglo-Americans while ethnic minorities are underrepresented.

Methods: To address this research gap, this study uses qualitative interviews to discuss the dialogical experiences of Puerto Rican women with fibromyalgia through a combination of intersectional and rhetorical theory. These methodologies can reveal what having various identities can mean when communicating in institutional and cultural settings.

Results: The data shows a significant level of gaslighting by providers, which led participants to more aggressively seek proper treatment. Cultural deference towards doctors was also noted as a practice that can backfire, especially when living with a condition that is often dismissed.

Conclusion: The results indicate that when the body's truth is filtered through intersectional lenses, this truth can become distorted or lost.

Keywords
fibromyalgia, Latinos, intersectionality, women's health, chronic disease

Paywall
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15404153211064608