Anorexia nervosa through the lens of primary health care practitioners in the Kyrgyz Republic

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Anorexia nervosa was investigated in a large number of studies. Several of the studies in our review highlighted how important it is to factor in the opinion of health care practitioners if we want to improve the quality of the medical care provided to patients with anorexia nervosa. Additionally, the dominance of studies focused on anorexia nervosa within the Western culture raised the need for cultural diversity in such research. AIM: The present study endeavored to explore how primary healthcare practitioners in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, perceive anorexia nervosa and people who suffer from it. METHODS: The study used the qualitative approach of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Six semi-structured interviews with six primary health care practitioners from Bishkek were conducted. RESULTS: The analysis of the collected data pointed towards four themes: (1) Anorexia nervosa as a reaction to distressing events in the form of loss of appetite; (2) Attributing blame for developing anorexia nervosa by a patient to family members; (3) Local versus Western socio-cultural standards in the development of anorexia nervosa and seeking treatment; and (4) Denial of mental health disorders by patients. CONCLUSION: The discussion of the interpreted results led us to the conclusion that the perceptions of the health care providers in Bishkek represent the common prism through which anorexia nervosa is viewed in the larger population, which is constructed out of information received from the physical and virtual environments.

Keywords

• anorexia nervosa
• primary healthcare
• interpretative phenomenological analysis
• kyrgyz republic