Living with invisible medical disabilities: experiences and challenges of Chilean university students disclosed in medical consultations

ABSTRACT

Purpose

The objective of this qualitative study is to explore experiences and challenges of university students living with invisible disabilities.

Methods

Nine videotaped medical consultations with students, conducted at the health centre of a higher education institution in northern Chile, were analysed, drawing on the thematic analysis to organize the most salient themes.

Results

Three major themes were identified in the analysis, along with their subthemes: (1) experiencing overpowering symptoms, including variable, multiple, and severe symptoms; (2) facing medical, social, and academic barriers; (3) engaging in self-management behaviours, such as self-medication, self-treatment, changing therapies, and non-compliance.

Conclusion

As the healthcare system is mostly ineffective in diagnosing students with invisible disabilities as well as providing them with long-lasting help, the students often have to manage their conditions by themselves, without much success. It seems essential to promote the development of stronger links between health providers and universities to allow for early disability detection and awareness-raising programs within educational institutions. Further research should focus on strategies promoting effective support mechanisms to decrease barriers and increase the inclusion of these individuals.

KEYWORDS:

• invisible disabilities
• medical consultations
• experiences
• university students
• thematic analysis
• chronic conditions
• barriers
• Chile

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo [Fondecyt 11191027].

Notes on contributors

Agnieszka Sowińska

Agnieszka Sowińska is working in the Department of Experimental Linguistics at Nicolaus Copernicus University (NCU), Poland, and also remains affiliated with the School of English at Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile, as Associate Professor. She has been collaborating with GPs within the European General Practice Research Network, Research Centre for Cognitive Science at the University of Talca, Chile, and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Modern Technologies at NCU, Poland, conducting various projects and publishing in linguistics and health communication. Her present research focuses on the discourse of students with invisible disabilities.

Rosa Pezoa Tudela

Rosa Pezoa is a lecturer at the School of English, and former ELT Programme Advisor and Academic Coordinator at Universidad Católica del Norte. She holds a Master´s degree in Applied Linguistics and a Bachelor´s degree in Education from Univesidad Católica de Chile. She is currently completing her PhD in Applied Linguistics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research interests are EAP and source-based writing, and the discourse of students with special educational needs and invisible disabilities.