Seeking Validation: Hypothyroidism and the Chronic Illness Trajectory

Abstract

This study investigates the experience of women suffering from hypothyroidism. The course of hypothyroid disease is examined by applying and extending Anselm Strauss's theory of a chronic illness trajectory. Because the symptoms of hypothyroidism tend to be vague, subjectively experienced, insidious in onset, and cyclic in occurrence, many sufferers are required to engage in a process of "seeking validation"'for their illness in order to receive appropriate treatment. A grounded theory of seeking validation is described. Transcripts from semistructured interviews of 12 adult women were analyzed by the constant comparative method of grounded theory. This study will help hypothyroid sufferers to understand better the course of this disease and the nature of the validation process. Furthermore, this study will assist caregivers and families to achieve an empathic understanding of the illness from the sufferer's perspective.