Finally heard, believed and accepted - Peer support in the narratives of women with fibromyalgia

ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to analyse how experiences of peer support were described and reflected upon several years after a group rehabilitation intervention. Moreover, we wanted to learn more about what meanings were ascribed to peer support in the narratives of women with a long history of fibromyalgia.MethodThis was a qualitative study in which narrative life story interviews of 20 women with fibromyalgia were collected and analysed to elicit the impact of peer support in their lives.ResultsWe identified four main domains of experienced peer support; permission to talk, need of information, reciprocity and self-evaluation through comparison. The meanings ascribed to peer support were mainly positive, although the participants also expressed thoughts about fear of future, hopelessness and mental health issues.ConclusionsLong-term fibromyalgia patients saw peer support as an impetus to an ongoing process of reconstruction of identity, illness acceptance and coping with fibromyalgia.Practice implicationsIn addition to up-dating their knowledge about fibromyalgia and its treatment, long term patients may need arenas where they can share and compare their experiences to those of other patients with a long history of fibromyalgia.