“I was pretty sure I had the 'flu”: Qualitative description of confirmed-influenza symptoms

Annemarie Jutel and Elizabeth Banister

Social Science & Medicine, 2013, vol. 99, issue C, 49-55

Abstract: Influenza is a common infectious disease, yet its diagnosis is rarely confirmed, rather is presumed in the presence of non-specific clinical symptoms. Public health organisations enlist the lay person in the diagnostic process, as infection containment initiatives focus on encouraging individuals with influenza-like illness to stay at home, seeking medical attention only in the presence of complications. While lay self-diagnosis of influenza has been confirmed to be neither specific nor sensitive, little is known about how people with confirmed-influenza infection describe their illness. In this article we report the descriptions of influenza by 21 individuals with rapid antigen test-kit confirmation of influenza A or B and we discuss their recommendations for management of future influenza infection. Semi-structured interviews reveal that the variability in symptoms and severity of disease makes a standard description of influenza elusive. Almost all participants had a cough, sweats, runny nose and muscle aches, but the prominence of these symptoms varied significantly between participants. Most participants were preoccupied with diagnostic certainty, and would seek medical attention in a future similar illness episode. This study underlined a conditioned recourse to medical authority for confirmation of diagnosis which challenges current public health strategies and should be further explored in order to determine its wider impact.

Keywords: New Zealand; Influenza; Self-diagnosis; Diagnosis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.10.011

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