Paper short abstract:

This research aims to analyse therapeutic itineraries among women with endometriosis in Catalonia (Spain), based on cultural, political, and structural constructions around reproductive process of women’s bodies.

Paper long abstract:

Endometriosis consists of the growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus and usually it manifests with symptoms such as severe pain as well as infertility, and a significant reduction in quality of life (Guidone, 2020). Diagnostic delay is estimated to take between 7 and 10 years from the onset of symptoms to the final diagnosis (Carmona, 2010). To date, there is no knowledge about the cause, an effective treatment and several controversies surrounding the diagnosis (Denny & Weckesser, 2019).

Critical studies have shown endometriosis as a construct that responds to the logics of cultural, political, and structural discourses about women’s bodies (Hudson, 2022; Jones, 2016; Seear, 2014).

Based on semi-structured interviews with 40 women and fieldwork in a specialized endometriosis care service in a public hospital, the current medical anthropological doctoral thesis, through qualitative research, aims to analyse therapeutic itineraries (Augé, 1986) among women with endometriosis, or with suspected diagnosis, in Catalonia (Spain) context. In this regard, it considers the different levels of care within the health care network of the territory for analysing some strategies women use to get medical treatment or shorten the time of diagnosis, inquiring into the medical discourse around those experiences.