Research abstract:

This grounded theory study explores conceptualisations of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis from semi-structured interviews with 10 health-care professionals working with children and adolescents.

The findings suggest that a lack of a clear empirical understanding of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis leads to ‘working with uncertainty’, whereby health-care professionals utilise previous experiences to make sense of the condition and inform their clinical practice.

How health-care professionals make sense of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis may influence the labels given to young people and the interventions they receive. The findings provide insight into a currently understudied area, and highlight potential avenues for further research and clinical practice.

Working with uncertainty: A grounded theory study of health-care professionals’ experiences of working with children and adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome, by MR Marks, JC Huws, L Whitehead in J Health Psychol. 2015 May 8. pii [Epub ahead of print]