Dissertation Research: Delayed Diagnosis: The Experience of Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Atlanta, Georgia

本论文研究项目由埃默里大学文化人类学的学生将研究不同的经验，由种族的妇女患有系统性红斑狼疮在亚特兰大，佐治亚州。 在美国，非裔美国妇女受SLE影响的比率是白色妇女的两倍，并且经历诊断延迟，导致发病率和死亡率过高。 该项目将研究导致非裔美国妇女延迟诊断的复杂过程。 依靠所涉及的医疗行为的社会文化模型，学生将测试假设，解释在三个领域的种族延迟诊断的差异：医患关系，疼痛和痛苦的差异表达，以及社会网络/支持资源。 这些方法包括结构化和半结构化访谈，心理社会工具评估，个案研究，以及对临床接触，支持小组会议和社会关系的深入观察。 这项研究很重要，因为它将促进我们对医患关系中种族差异的理解，并有助于了解慢性病患者面临的障碍。这一新的知识将是有用的生物医学从业者有兴趣改善他们与患者的关系，并有兴趣为SLE妇女及其家庭设计教育计划，或更大的媒体宣传活动有关的社会态度对慢性病的公共卫生专业人员。

This dissertation research project by a cultural anthropology student at Emory University will study the different experience by race of women afflicted with systematic Lupus erythematosus in Atlanta, GA. In the US, African-American women are affected by SLE at twice the rate of white women, and experience diagnosis delays that contribute to excess morbidity and mortality. The project will study the complex processes that contribute to this delayed diagnosis among African-American women. Relying on a sociocultural model of the medical behaviors involved, the student will test hypotheses which explain the differential in delayed diagnosis by ethnicity in three areas: doctor-patient relationships, differential expressions of pain and suffering, and social network/support resources. The methods include structured and semi-structured interviews, psychosocial instrument assessments, individual case studies, and intensive observation of clinical encounters, support group meetings and social relationships. This research is important because it will advance our understanding of racial differences in doctor-patient relationships, and will contribute to understanding the obstacles facing chronic disease sufferers. This new knowledge will be useful to biomedical practioners interested in improving their relationships with their patients, and to public health professionals interested in designing education programs for women with SLE and their families, or larger media campaigns concerning societal attitudes towards chronic illness.