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

Objective: The 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.

Method: This 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.

Results: We 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.

Conclusions: Long-term fibromyalgia patients saw peer support as an impetus to an ongoing process of reconstruction of identity, illness acceptance and coping with fibromyalgia.

Practice implications: In 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.