PATIENTS ILLNESS MODELS IN CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN

A modification of Kleinman's approach to eliciting concepts that patients have about their illnesses was applied to 64 patients with chronic pelvic pain. The women involved did not have clear schemata about causes of the process, and displayed flexibility in the concepts they did have. A significant proportion had clear ideas about what they did not want in terms of treatment. Worries focussed on interminability and effects on sex and work. It appears that offering a simple explanatory model such as that based on venous congestion fulfils some of the treatment needs in this group. Kleinman's approach could be more widely employed.