Hansen, Anne Helen, Lian, Olaug S · BMC health services research · 2016 · DOI
This study asked Norwegian women with ME/CFS about their experiences with their general practitioners across three areas: whether doctors shared information with them, whether their care was well-coordinated, and whether they felt their doctor understood them personally. Most women (about two-thirds) reported positive experiences in all three areas, though information-sharing and care coordination could be improved. The study found that longer relationships with the same GP and better communication were linked to more positive experiences.
Continuity of care is essential for patients managing complex chronic illnesses like ME/CFS. This study identifies specific gaps in how GP care is delivered to ME/CFS patients and highlights that building longer-term relationships with GPs and improving information-sharing may be practical strategies to enhance care quality and patient satisfaction.
This study does not establish causation or whether better continuity experiences actually improve ME/CFS health outcomes. The findings apply only to Norwegian women with ME/CFS who joined a patient association, so results may not generalize to men, other countries, or unaffiliated patients. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether longer GP relationships cause better experiences or whether satisfied patients simply maintain these relationships longer.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Hansen, Anne Helen & Lian, Olaug S (2016). Experiences of general practitioner continuity among women with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: a cross-sectional study.. BMC health services research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1909-1
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-hansen-2016-experiences-general,
author = {Hansen, Anne Helen and Lian, Olaug S},
title = {Experiences of general practitioner continuity among women with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: a cross-sectional study.},
journal = {BMC health services research},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1186/s12913-016-1909-1},
note = {PubMed: 27842587},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hansen-2016-experiences-general},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hansen-2016-experiences-general
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