Qualitative health research
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Fibromyalgia (FM) is a common chronic pain syndrome with an obscure etiology, which mostly afflicts middle-aged women. In this study, 14 women with FM were interviewed about the meaning of living with the illness. A phenomenological-hermeneutic method was used to analyze and interpret the interview texts. ⋯ The women's experiences of living with FM were presented in three major interlaced themes: loss of freedom, threat to integrity, and a struggle to achieve relief and understanding. This study highlights the importance of meeting people suffering in illness with respect for their human dignity. The care of women with FM must empower the women to bring to bear their own resources so that they can manage to live with the illness.
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The purpose of the Heideggerian hermeneutical project, from which this article stems, was to describe women's experience of sexual violence by male intimates. Ten women who had encountered sexual violence by a male they knew well were interviewed about the effects of that experience on their everyday lives. ⋯ For Heidegger, understanding is not a cognitive process; rather, it is an implicit "knowing how" to do what is appropriate in each situation. Professionals who work with women who have experienced intimate sexual violence should seek to understand the women's intuitive understanding of what is possible and to appreciate the common sense ways they cope with life in a violent world.