The DISTRESS Study – patients’ experience

A parallel running study of the DISTRESS main study is employing qualitative methods. We aim to explore how patients, general practitioners and hospital staff practice and experience the inter­disciplinary intervention offered in the DISTRESS study. In the anthropological and sociological literature, it is emphasized that symptoms and diagnostics are negotiated in a social process and that diagnostics are influenced by contextual factors. In the DISTRESS study, it is therefore relevant to focus on the social context and on the practices that take place in the study at the Diagnostic Center Silkeborg. In addition, general practice and patients' homes are also included, as diagnostics and diagnoses are also practiced here. The primary methods used are participant observation, individual interviews, and group interviews. The project will produce a knowledge that is relevant healthcare professionals, decision-makers and researchers.