ReviewPrimary health care research & development2023
Patient and primary care practitioners' perspectives on consultations for fibromyalgia: a qualitative evidence synthesis.
Review in Primary health care research & development, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perception and lived experience of movement in patients with fibromyalgia: a qualitative systematic review with meta-synthesis and meta-summary.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Pooled it
- Management of Juvenile Fibromyalgia: A Level I Evidence-Based Systematic Review.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
- "This is how we should work" - healthcare professionals' past uncertainty and present confidence in management of fibromyalgia.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2026Article
- Perceptions of Fibromyalgia Across Career Stages: Survey Results From Internal Medicine Physicians and Medical Students.Musculoskeletal care · 2026Article
- Evaluation of an Invisible Illness Communication Strategy Curriculum Among Internal Medicine Interns.Cureus · 2026Article
- Fibromyalgia in systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases: a mixed-methods study of patient and clinician perspectives.Rheumatology international · 2026Article
- Understanding essential aspects of fibromyalgia care through a qualitative study of patient feedback.PEC innovation · 2026Article
- Conceptualisation of Empathy in Interactions Between Healthcare Professionals and People With Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Mixed-Methods Study.Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings · 2026Article
- "Food as Friend or Enemy": A Qualitative Study of Motivations Underlying Restrictive Dietary Practices in Fibromyalgia.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2026Article
- Has anything changed for Fibromyalgia? Focus groups with patients on their lived experiences in England.PloS one · 2026Article
- Healthcare use and its variation in people with fibromyalgia: a systematic review protocol.Primary health care research & development · 2025Article
- The journey of patients with musculoskeletal complaints in Europe: a cross-sectional European survey.Rheumatology international · 2025Article
- Mapping the Social Organisation of Neglect in the Case of Fibromyalgia: Using Smith's Sociology for People to Inform a Systems-Focused Literature Review.Sociology of health & illness · 2025Review
- The Development and Implementation of a Rheumatology Referral-Based, General Internal Medicine-Led Fibromyalgia Clinic and Preliminary Patient Outcomes.Musculoskeletal care · 2024Article
- Physiotherapists' adherence to Clinical Practice Guidelines in fibromyalgia: a cross-sectional online survey.Rheumatology international · 2024Article
- The Fibromyalgia Decomposition Phenomenon: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Management perspectives from patients with fibromyalgia experiences with the healthcare pathway: a qualitative study.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFibromyalgia presents a challenge to both the patients experiencing symptoms and the staff aiming to treat them. This qualitative review aimed to synthesise how patients and practitioners experience primary care consultations, develop a rounded picture of how they perceive each other, the challenges to primary care consultation and how they might be tackled.
methodsCINAHL, Embase, CENTRAL and Medline were searched from inception to November 2021. Qualitative studies were included if they explored the perspectives and experiences of either fibromyalgia patients or primary care practitioners. Quantitative data, studies not published in English, not set in primary care or that did not distinguish the type of patient or clinician were excluded. Included studies were analysed using thematic synthesis and their quality assessed.
resultsIn total, 30 studies met the inclusion criteria. Thematic synthesis identified three overarching themes: (1) life turned upside down - exploring the chaos experienced by patients as they seek help; (2) negative cycle - highlighting how patient and practitioner factors can create a detrimental cycle; and (3) breaking the cycle - validating patient-doctor relationships underpinned by clear communication can help break the negative cycle.
conclusionsFibromyalgia patients experience uncertainty and chaos that can clash with the attitudes of GPs and the help they can feasibly provide. Difficult consultations in which neither the GP nor patient are satisfied can easily occur. Promoting supportive, reciprocal and open patient-doctor relationships is essential. Future research is required to further explore GP attitudes and to develop an intervention that could improve consultations, patient outcomes and GP satisfaction.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.