Oter-Quintana, Cristina, Alameda-Cuesta, Almudena, Brito-Brito, Pedro Ruymán et al. · Nursing open · 2025 · DOI
This study looked at the emotional and psychological challenges that people with ME/CFS commonly experience. Researchers surveyed 48 adults with ME/CFS and found that most experienced feelings of powerlessness, difficulty coping, and fear. The study identified three different groups of patients: one group with more severe symptoms and greater emotional distress, and two other groups with milder symptoms who were still working or retired.
This study addresses a significant gap in understanding the psychosocial dimensions of ME/CFS by systematically characterizing psychological and emotional challenges patients face. By identifying distinct patient subgroups based on psychosocial profiles, the findings can help healthcare providers develop more targeted, personalized nursing interventions and care plans that address the specific emotional and coping needs of different ME/CFS populations.
This study does not establish causality—we cannot determine whether ME/CFS symptoms cause psychosocial distress or vice versa. The small sample size (48 participants, 95.83% female) limits generalizability to broader ME/CFS populations. Cross-sectional design means findings represent a snapshot in time and cannot track how psychosocial profiles change over the course of illness.
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
Oter-Quintana, Cristina, Alameda-Cuesta, Almudena, Brito-Brito, Pedro Ruymán, Parro-Moreno, Ana Isabel, Alcolea-Cosín, María Teresa, González-Gil, Teresa, et al. (2025). Psychosocial Nursing Diagnoses of Individuals With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis-Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Descriptive Study.. Nursing open. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.70212
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-oter-quintana-2025-psychosocial-nursing,
author = {Oter-Quintana, Cristina and Alameda-Cuesta, Almudena and Brito-Brito, Pedro Ruymán and Parro-Moreno, Ana Isabel and Alcolea-Cosín, María Teresa and González-Gil, Teresa and Hernández-Barrera, Valentín and Esteban-Hernández, Jesús},
title = {Psychosocial Nursing Diagnoses of Individuals With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis-Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Descriptive Study.},
journal = {Nursing open},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/nop2.70212},
note = {PubMed: 40304221},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/oter-quintana-2025-psychosocial-nursing},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/oter-quintana-2025-psychosocial-nursing
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