The prospect of becoming unable to function in a satisfying manner as a result of fibromyalgia is of great concern to newly diagnosed woman as well as health care providers, policy makers, and payers. The goal of this pilot project is to gain information that can be used to support the development of new and innovative early intervention strategies to prevent long-term negative outcomes and promote the health and quality of life of young women with fibromyalgia. Perspectives from newly diagnosed young women in two countries with different approaches to social welfare (United States and Sweden) will be described.
The specific aims are to: (1) describe the perceived difficulties and limitations encountered by young women with fibromyalgia; and, (2) develop a model that can be used to assist health care providers in planning early intervention treatment strategies that minimize dysfunction and maximize health status and quality of life. The study will use a descriptive, correlational design in which data will be collected 3 times at 6-month intervals from 100 newly diagnosed women between the ages of 18 and 39 recruited from two specialty care settings. Data concerning symptoms, physical and psychological function, work status, leisure activity, medical regimens, self-management activities, social support demographic risk factors, health status and quality of life will be obtained through semi-structured interviews, standardized questionnaires, and physical fitness testing.
