"I Get It, I'm Sick Too": An Autoethnographic Study of One Researcher/Practitioner/Patient With Chronic Illness.

Abstract

This autoethnographic research utilizes reflexivity as a method to explore my self-experience of Lyme disease while holding co-occurring identities as a researcher, health professional, and mother. Awareness of self is central in psychotherapy so that therapists do not adversely impact their clients. This is similar for researchers who are ethically required to acknowledge and reduce any potential risk(s) of harm to their participants. In this study, I describe and systematically analyze my experiences as a patient with symptom-persistent Lyme disease, contextualized through co-occurring identities as a mother, a regulated (mental) health professional, and a scholar investigating the embodied experience of being a Lyme disease patient in the Canadian context. The central research question guiding this study is: "What are my experiences with symptom-persistent Lyme disease?" The results of this study suggest reflexivity is an important practice in both health research and healthcare. Relationships with health professionals have a significant impact on patients' healthcare experiences, and engaging in reflexive practice may improve the responsivity of healthcare professionals toward patients' needs and embodied experiences and serve as a check on pre-existing power relations in healthcare. Further, this research contributes to the current academic knowledge on symptom-persistent Lyme disease by offering a reflexive representation of my experiences as a researcher who is also a health professional and a patient within the Canadian healthcare system. Representations of patients' experiences are critical in advancing health research and ensuring equitable care for patients. Autoethnography offers important insights into patients' disease experiences.