Hossenbaccus, Zahra, White, Peter D · JRSM short reports · 2013 · DOI
This study looked at how ME/CFS is described in newspapers, patient websites, and medical textbooks in the UK. Researchers found that patient organizations typically view ME/CFS as a physical illness, while doctors' resources were more likely to describe it as both physical and psychological. This disagreement may explain why some patients and doctors struggle to understand each other.
This study documents a significant communication gap between the medical profession and ME/CFS patients regarding how the illness is conceptualized. Understanding these differing perspectives is crucial for improving doctor-patient relationships and may help explain patient reluctance to engage with certain treatments, ultimately affecting clinical outcomes and care quality.
This study describes what different groups *said* about ME/CFS in 2010 but does not prove which characterization is scientifically correct. It does not establish causality—disagreement between groups may reflect actual scientific uncertainty rather than causing communication problems. The findings are limited to UK sources from one year and may not reflect current views or other countries.
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
Hossenbaccus, Zahra & White, Peter D (2013). Views on the nature of chronic fatigue syndrome: content analysis.. JRSM short reports. https://doi.org/10.1258/shorts.2012.012051
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-hossenbaccus-2013-views-nature,
author = {Hossenbaccus, Zahra and White, Peter D},
title = {Views on the nature of chronic fatigue syndrome: content analysis.},
journal = {JRSM short reports},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1258/shorts.2012.012051},
note = {PubMed: 23413406},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hossenbaccus-2013-views-nature},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hossenbaccus-2013-views-nature
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